Clean Up Woman
by The Dark Flair
Summary: Roxas Jones was the ever so sexy lead singer of the rock band Dead Alive. He was famous worldwide. And he'd stolen her phone. Roxas/Naminé COMPLETE
1. Thief

**So I literally could not wait another second to post this. I've been working really hard on it and I promise it will be MUCH better than that other thing. That disappoints me. Brace yourself for drama, confusion, and lemons!**

 **XXX**

 **1**

See that guy in the far corner of the room with his hood over his head and his shades over his eyes? No? Across from the table with the screaming baby, the guy sitting alone. That's Liquid Life's best paying customer. Ever since he came in and was served by their best waitress a year ago, he's been a regular.

Everyone on the staff has dreams of serving him because of the tips he leaves, but none of them realize he only leaves tips for one waitress- the one that first served him a whole 365 days ago.

It's odd, but she's the only one he allows to take his order. Rumor has it that he even bribed the manager to call her in every single day just so he could see her. All they really know is that whether she was on the clock or not, she had definitely been his personal waitress for an entire year straight.

XXX

"Look, Nami, your boo is back. Go work your magic gi- Hey, you smell amazing..." one of her co-workers joked. He was a tall brunet that went by the name of Reggie. He was like Naminé's gay older brother; flamboyant, but he wouldn't hesitate to lay you out if you crossed his Namine the wrong way. If she didn't get to you first, that is.

Naminé herself was a petite platinum blonde with the prettiest palatinate blue eyes. She had an average body for an average girl, but she wasn't exactly worried about her appearance or what other people thought of it. There weren't any guys she was romantically interested in anyway. She was twenty-one and had yet to live her life.

The word "boo" covered up the comment about her scent and made her smile. "I wish. He's fucking _loaded_. I wouldn't really mind if he _was_ my boo," she laughed before grabbing her pen and notepad. This customer and Naminé had a pretty weird relationship. He made a few passes at her while she took his order, let him get away with an occasional ass slap, served him his food, and then collected the tip that often ranged between twenty and sixty dollars.

She stood at his table and gave him her best smile with the same bun in her hair as all the days before, "Now I distinctly remember you saying you weren't going to come here anymore because I was, quote, unquote, _playing with your emotions_."

"Look who's living in the past! Baby, that was a whole two hours ago. I think we can agree that I've had enough time to think about my actions and mature a little in the process. I am ready to change for _you_ ," he smiled innocently.

"I'm sure. So what'll it be? For the _second_ time today."

"Sex on the beach, please."

She rolled her eyes playfully, "This is a café, Sir, not a bar. I can't sell you alcohol."

He smirked suggestively, "I wasn't asking for alcohol..."

"The flirting never stops" she mumbled, blushing slightly as she tapped her pen against her notepad. "Seriously, what'll it be?"

"I never got a chance to ask about you, sweetie. How much do you earn here? Do you like it here?"

Naminé blinked. He never went so far as to ask her about her job. It was a strict cat and mouse game; a battle of wits while flirting. "About seven fifty an hour. And not really."

He rested his chin in his hand and looked up at her with a playful pout. It seemed so familiar, but she was sure she'd never seen it before. Why did it feel like the answer was right in front of her face? "No? What makes it bad?"

"Well, I get customers that are disgusting old perverts that I entertain for the hell of it. They get annoying. And then there's you, which is a whole different category by itself. I don't know if I peg you as a pervert or just…persistent."

"Your words cut me like a knife through butter," he spoke in some kind of accent. "No, I'm not a pervert, I swear. I'm just persistent...and allergic to the word no."

The blonde barista exaggerated a gasp, "Really? I would've never known!"

She was absolutely adorable to him.

"Another question. Would you like to make a lot of money for doing absolutely _nothing_ at all?"

"Well who wouldn't?" she shrugged.

"Exactly. I don't exactly know how to ask this, so I'm gonna come right out and say it. I'd like you to work for me."

Naminé frowned. It was enough to be sexually harassed by him in public. Why would she willingly allow herself to be harassed where there were no witnesses? There was no telling what he'd have her do. She didn't even know his name!

Wow. She had been talking to him for a year and didn't know his name...?

"Look buddy, I'm not gonna let you touch me whenever or wherever you want for a little extra cash. I'm not desperate, I'm not money hungry, and I'm _not_ working for you."

"Oh no? You don't even know what I want you to do for me."

"No thank you. I'll bring you the usual." She turned to leave, but before she could walk away, he grabbed her wrist and gently pulled.

"A hundred an hour to clean my house. Windows, clothes, bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen," he quickly blurted.

 _A hundred an hour? Just to clean his house?_

"I'll even provide all the supplies you'll need. I promise I'll behave myself...as much as I can. I'm actually a very fun, yet professional man when you get to know me," he smirked.

"Cleaning requires physical activity," Naminé pointed out.

"...I may have lied when I said absolutely nothing."

Naminé frowned, but it was a cute frown. His offer seemed legitimate enough, but there was still the fact that she didn't even know his name.

"Prove to me that I can trust you and I'll think about it," she said as she crossed her arms.

He nodded eagerly, "What do you need me to do?"

"Get out."

The stranger furrowed his brow, drawing attention to his silver eyebrow piercing. "You...you're serious?"

"Completely. Leave and don't come back until my shift ends at nine. If you show up a minute before, my answer will be no."

He pretended to sneeze. The joke went right over Naminé's head. "Alright," he laughed. "Come here for a second," he stood up and pulled her into a hug, his actions taking her by surprise. Hugs were exclusive for only friends and family...yet she was allowing this complete stranger to hug her. Why?

"Please don't think I'm weird. I just...I've always wanted to hug you. It's better now because you're my employee."

She wanted so badly for him to touch her ass so she could call him a dirty pervert and decline his offer right then and there, but he kept his hands respectfully above the waistband of her skirt. The bastard. That was extremely uncharacteristic of him. The guy that had been randomly slapping her ass over the course of the past year, but he chooses _now_ , of all times, to be a gentleman?

"I'm not your employee," she smiled to herself.

"No, but you will be. I have a surefire plan to get you to agree. You _will_ work for me, Naminé. And then we'll be the best of friends." He slowly pulled away from her and stuffed something into his pocket, "By the way, you smell like that Phantasm cologne by Jo. And something else...but it's nice."

She blushed and put her head down, "O-Oh, thank you! I just thought it smelled better on me than the perfume his girlfriend has out. It smells kinda like...like..."

"Cotton candy shit and pretty rainbow vomit?" he provided.

"Exactly. I hate it. But I love Jo's."

He laughed, "Me too, now that I know who he is. It smells really good on you. Now let me get out of here before our little deal becomes void. I'll see you at nine." He made a show of letting his fingertips ghost across her cheek as he walked away, whistling a newly released song by Dead Alive. As she watched him drive away in his Coupe, she stood there completely dumbfounded. Who the hell did he think he was anyway?

Naminé reached for her phone, but came up empty handed. The only thing she found was a thin card shoved into her waistband. Slightly panicked, she took it out and examined it. It was a state ID; probably that guy's. Apparently his name was...

Roxas Jones.

 _Impossible. You mean that god of a man was flirting with me for an entire year?_

Roxas Jones (aka, Jo) was the ever so sexy lead singer of the rock band Dead Alive. They were popular all throughout Twilight Town. Aside from the band, Jo had a solo career that was even more popular than the group was. In short, he was famous worldwide.

Apparently he was a theif as well. He'd stolen her phone.

XXX

The aforementioned Jo laid on his bed back at home, playing around with Naminé's phone. "Silly girl. Don't you know it's incredibly dangerous to not lock have a lock on your phone?" he smirked.

He didn't go through everything like he had initially planned to do. Just her photos and music. Naminé seemed to be a typical fangirl; she had a whole playlist dedicated to his solo career and another to his band. Her pictures were divided into folders as well. She had normal pictures, with the occasional _Keep Calm and Love Jo_ picture popping up every now and again.

She was beautiful, which bothered him in more ways than one. There was nothing he'd like more than to just take her home and have his wicked way with her. That would never happen, for the simple fact that he had to put up with his "girlfriend" Olette. Yeah, Olette was pretty too…pretty enough to become a model, in fact- but she was ugly on the inside. He was the only one who had to put up with her diva-like tendencies twenty-four seven.

Olette was so lucky that it was a bit unfair. Even if modeling fell through, she still had singing and acting to fall back on.

"Roxyyyyy!"

"Damn it," he groaned. Speaking of the brunette haired devil...

She walked into the room and immediately came out of her heels. He hid the phone beneath his pillow and folded his arms behind his head. Even with Olette in the room he couldn't stop his thoughts of that beautiful blonde barista at Liquid Life. His thoughts of her drifted to the point where he'd actually started to pitch a tent in his dark jeans. It had been a while since a woman got that kind of response out of him without even touching him. Seemed as if Naminé was succeeding where a bunch of others had tried and failed …miserably.

"Aw, did you miss me?" Olette cooed as she placed her hand just above the bulge.

He sighed heavily, annoyed by her obvious cockiness. How many times did he have to say _it was okay_ before she got the message? She wasn't as good in bed as she used to be. She was good for three times, maybe? After that, it was pretty sad. He was used to all her so-called tricks by now.

It was actually really pathetic when you could let your "significant other" do all the work while you just laid there and went to sleep. No, not pathetic; it was a giant middle finger to his sex life and to him as a whole.

"No," he answered honestly, "I'm thinking about someone else."

She scoffed and snatched her hand away, "Think about who you want, but just know that you're with me until my manager says otherwise. Got it? You signed the contract for this publicity stunt. If you even think about cheating on me again, I'll ruin your career so fast it'll make your head spin."

The simple fact that she had to say _again_ should've let her know that he wasn't really committed to their little relationship. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out.

"I'm _kidding_ ," he lied as he faked a smile for her sake. The goal here was to keep the diva happy so no one got hurt. "I wouldn't anyway because she's about to be the maid."

Olette gasped, bright green eyes turning from anger to joy, "Oh, Roxy! You finally got another maid!? Thank you! I'm so happy!"

"It wasn't for your benefit," he huffed softly.

"She'll be a lot of help around here. But you have to stick to your word. Promise me you won't sleep with her like you did with the last ones."

"Babe, I got you. I won't sleep with her...if I can help it," he mumbled the last bit under his breath. "Besides, she's a blonde anyways. You know I like brunettes the best," he lied again.

She smiled and straddled his lap, "Thank you so much. I love you."

He kept those perfect blue eyes hidden behind his lids as she kissed him. If he concentrated hard enough, he could pretend that it was Naminé on top of him. "Yeah, I know..."

As she ran her fingers through his spiky blond hair, he let his thoughts run wild. It was the same old touch and the same old kiss, but with a little imagination, he could work wonders with it. Maybe he could even bring that ancient spark- or perhaps even a little fizzle -back into their sex life.

It was a shot in the dark, but it was worth it. As long as she was happy and he was somewhat satisfied, nothing else mattered, right?

 _Naminé...why couldn't it be you?_

His phone started to ring. Olette stopped and pulled back, which forced him to pry his eyes open and take in the ugly reality that was the brunette, not the blonde. "You're not going to answer that, are you?"

"Is your hair brown?"

"Yes...?"

"Then there's your answer." He picked up his phone from off the dresser, sliding right to answer. "Yolo-dolo!" he answered with faux enthusiasm. It was one of his many, _many_ odd greetings that he often used when answering his personal phone.

"Hey, wassup? Did you finally get that chick?"

It was Demyx, his best friend. They'd been through a lot in high school, so he couldn't find it in himself to ignore his call, even if it was just to dick around. Demyx was like a brother to him, one of the most important people in his life actually.

"Define both _get_ and _chick_ ," he sighed.

"Get as in fuck and chick as in that Nanami girl from Liquid Life that you've been talking about for the past year."

"It's _Naminé_ , and you know I can't. Don't worry about it. I'll be fine with what I have."

After a couple seconds of silence, he and Demyx started to laugh uncontrollably. Yes, to everyone who knew about him and Olette personally, that statement was complete and utter bullshit. Fine with what he had? He didn't have much in the first place. The way he talked about Naminé to his friends, you'd swear she was the finest thing every guy on the block wanted a piece of.

And to Roxas, she looked just that good.

It wasn't just her appearance that had him so enthralled. She had a great sense of humor too. She knew when to play and when to be serious around him. She even gave him free food on his birthday and sat down to talk with him whenever he looked sad. A girl who would go out of her way to make someone who irritated her on a daily basis happy was his kind of girl. People like that were hard to find in the celebrity world.

But alas, he was already taken. Prince Charming fell into Oz, got snatched up by Maleficent, and was thrown into Beast's Castle. And when he finally met the beautiful Snow White, he couldn't find his way out. That was just how fucked up his life felt.

"Hey, call me back in about...eh...ten to twenty minutes. It's a code clear," Roxas spoke.

Roxas and his friends had secret codes for different situations. Yellow meant bathroom break, blue meant someone was crying, pink was the sighting of a hot girl they wanted to bang, red meant someone was pissed beyond reasoning, and so on.

Clear meant they were either in the middle of or were about to have sex.

"With that hoe? _Ew_..."

"Right? I'm not actually thinking about her, though. That's why it's necessary right now."

"Ohhh! Gotcha. Talk to you when you're done."

Demyx hung up first, then Roxas placed his phone back on the dresser. He let his eyes close again. "You can finish," he yawned, debating on whether or not to go to sleep again.

Without any hesitation whatsoever, Olette happily obeyed like the idiot he used to think she was. Her hand traveled to his arm band and pulled at it, but he snatched away and tossed her off of him. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" he snapped as he sat up.

"I was just..."

"Just _what?_ " he spat. His back was ram rod straight and his glare was colder than it had ever been. "I told you to never touch this arm band."

"But-"

" _Never!_ What about that word don't you fucking understand!?"

And just like that, the part of Olette that wanted to play nice was gone. "You know what? Fuck you and your grandfather."

She knew. She _knew_ that the arm band was his grandfather's lucky arm band. He wore it when he asked his grandmother out on a date in high school, he had it in his tuxedo pocket when they got married, and he wore it the day Roxas was born. When he got to hold him, his tiny little hand wrapped around the band and wouldn't let go. As he grew up, he kept asking for it until he got it...which was a week before he died.

Roxas' blood boiled as he tried his damndest not to punch the hell out of her for that heartless comment. If he even attempted to disrespect her in such a way, he'd be ruined. "Get out," he spoke calmly.

Olette stood and walked towards the door. "It's not my fault he's dead."

"Get the fuck _out!_ " he roared. If he had to say it again, he'd be going to jail for domestic abuse.

It wasn't always like this, but it felt like it had been. They'd cross the line, then act like none of it happened a couple hours later. If the insult wasn't that bad, he'd flash a couple smiles, tuck her hair behind her ear, and they'd be back to normal. It was sickening, but he had to put up with it.

For now, at least.

 **XXX**

 **Let me know what you think, guys!**

 **Edited: 10.12.15. A lot of things will change (like the dialogue, grammar, slight alteration of some events) but the overall plot will stay the same.**


	2. Sign This

**2**

Naminé clocked out early and sat in the lobby as she waited for Mr. Mysterious to show up with her phone. Jo, Roxas, whatever he wanted to go by, really needed to return her property to her. No matter how many times she attempted to stop staring at the clock and just wait, the time wouldn't move fast enough. Having to wait on each minute to pass was absolute torture. And not knowing if he would actually show or not made it worse.

He _had_ to show because she had his ID. He needed that, right?

It was eight fifty-seven. _I'm gonna put my head down for five minutes. He should be here by then._

So the blonde put her head down. This gave her time to think. Jo, Roxas, _whatever_ , had been flirting with her for a whole year, managing to maintain his cool and keep her attention without giving away his identity. Often, he'd alternate between persistent flirt to cool friend. It was weird, but they made it work.

Even still, he had a girlfriend. The young and beautiful, extremely talented, trilingual Puerto Rican goddess that every straight guy in town was in love with; Olette DiCcirco. She could act, she could sing, she was a model, she was book smart- not very street smart, according to the magazines -and she had Jo. In short, she was everything every woman in town could only dream of being. She had everything.

Why in the hell was Roxas Jones, Olette's boyfriend, flirting with a café barista on a daily basis? Either he knew something about Olette that no one else knew and didn't like it, or he was just that much of a dog when it came to females. She hoped to God it was the first so the image she'd painted of her favorite singer wasn't torn down in a single day.

 _That felt like five minutes,_ she thought. _Let's see._

Eight fifty-eight.

" _ **God!**_ " She dropped her head back down on the table and screamed loudly inside her head. She didn't want to look like she was having a mental breakdown in front of the few customers they had left, though it was probably already too late for that. The old lady in the corner was staring in confusion and shock.

Reggie came from behind the counter and sat down in the chair across from her. When she didn't pick her head up, he scooted closer to her and rubbed her back comfortingly. "Calm down, honey. He'll be here with your phone soon enough. You did say not a minute before nine."

"I know what I said! But the one time I want him to _not_ listen to me, he listens! I need my phone, Reggie!"

Reggie smiled and scooted his chair closer to hers. "You'll be okay for a few more minutes, I'm sure. It's not like you'll die if you don't get it back."

Naminé gave him a glare so fierce that it forced every corpse in the downtown cemetery to squirm in discomfort. Reggie tried to avoid looking at her so he didn't spontaneously combust from the amount of anger it held. "It doesn't have a _passcode_ on it," she growled.

"Oh...sweetie, you're fucked. Speaking if which, _I_ haven't been in a week! Do you think it's...?

Naminé's nostrils flared in anger, which increased his discomfort. Despite her outward appearance, she was a demon when she was pissed. Women like her were extremely hard to find here in Twilight Town. She was like a one in a million rarity.

"I'm not helping, am I?" Reggie grimaced.

"What do you think!?"

"Sorry." He glanced toward the window and smaller again. "Hey, I have good news and even better news for you! Which one do you want to hear first?" he joked.

"Give me the good news, wait a few seconds, then give me the better news."

Reggie nodded. "Drum roll, please!" He tapped rapidly on the table, then pointed at the clock while singing his own fanfare. "The good news is that it's nine!"

Naminé looked at the clock. Sure enough, the big hand was on twelve while the little hand was on the nine. Great. Even if she got her phone back, there was no telling what all he went through and what all he's seen. Embarrassment sank in as she lowered her head. "And the better news?"

He nodded towards the window with a smirk. "Prince Charming's here." Outside of the window was her phone. It was dangling in the lose grip of its grinning captor, who was hidden beneath his shades and hood. The bastard had the nerve to turn it around and go through it right in front of her face.

"Son of a bitch! Give me my phone!" She got up so fast that her chair fell over in the process. All the customers saw was a blur of blue and white disappear into the darkness, then the guy outside the window run for his life.

Roxas laughed as he ducked in between cars to get away from her. He even rolled over the hood of a shiny red sports car. "Spare me! It was an essential part of my plan!"

Naminé stopped on the driver's side of a little yellow Fiat with Roxas on the passenger's side. He was a slippery one. "I don't give a damn about your stupid ass plan! Give me my phone!"

"I'll give you your phone if you calm down and listen to me. That's all I ask. Just chill out."

She growled, irritated with his childish behavior. "You have ten seconds before my foot goes in your ass."

"Believe me, I _want_ to give you your phone back. If you agree to my terms and conditions, I'll give it back and leave everything the way it was. If you don't, I'll factory reset this bitch and pitch it across the parking lot..." he grinned.

Not her Note II. It took her forever to save up enough for that phone. And he was planning to erase everything she'd saved? "If you delete one ounce of my shit, I will sacrifice you like a fucking virgin!" she threatened.

"You can only kill me if you can catch me. I'll just go home and never come back to this place again," he laughed.

"Listen, I don't give a damn who you are or what you think you're entitled to! If you don't give me back my phone, I will lay you out in this goddamn parking lot. Do you understand that, Jones!?"

He pressed the power button on her phone. The option was already presented on the white page. _Do you wish to factory reset? This operation can't be undone._

She glared, hands curling into fists on the roof of the Fiat. "Don't you _dare_..."

"Terms and conditions," he sang as his finger hovered over the yes button.

"Okay, okay, okay! What are your terms and conditions!?"

"You absolutely _have_ to work for me. There's no other option." He pulled a small folded stack of papers out of his inside coat pocket and slid it over to her on the roof of the yellow bug. "You will sign this contract and start working for me first thing in the morning."

Naminé looked at it for a moment, then snatched it off the roof to skim through it. Most of it looked like a legitimate contract, but some of the conditions were outrageous. "I have to move in within thirty days or I'm fired?"

"Yes. I want a live-in maid. If you don't live in, you don't get the job. It's as simple as that," he shrugged.

She flipped the page. "You're entitled to an occasional ass slap that I can't tell your girlfriend about?"

"For consistency's sake. It'll bring back memories and create new ones for the future," he smiled brightly.

"I have to wear a _collar?_ "

"So I can remind myself of the best day of my life, of course. You, ma'am, were a long term goal. That goal gets achieved tonight."

 _Long term goal...!?_

"I have to call you Mr. Jones and answer the phone Sir whenever you call?"

"It's professional. I promised I'd behave as much as possible. I also told you I was a very professional man. Just following the procedures and regulations any other job would have."

 _Other jobs wouldn't make me wear collars!_

"The alternative is Daddy-"

"Not on your life," she spat. Naminé read a little more and quickly became even more aggravated. "I can't attack you when I get my phone back?"

"You seem like the type, which is actually pretty hot. But if you so much as brush my shoulder a little too hard, you're fired. You're a feisty little thing and I will not have you damaging the goods."

She ignored the rest of the terms and conditions, no matter how outrageous they were. It wasn't anything she couldn't handle. So she pulled the pen out of her shirt pocket and signed it. A small part of her died inside. She felt like she was signing over her soul. "Fine. Now I'm your maid. Give me my phone."

"I have one more condition."

"Ugh, what!?" she screamed. "What else could you possibly want besides sex!? If that's what you want, you can go fuck yourself!"

Roxas thought about how he wanted to word it. If it came out wrong, she could rip up the contract. He wondered, for a moment, if she realized the amount of power she had. She could rip it into a million little pieces and render the contract null and void.

Probably not. She was way too angry to think straight.

"In the event that Olette is not around and I have to go to a public event of any kind, I want you to accompany me. All your other plans mean nothing to me. Cool?"

Though she was reluctant to do so, she nodded and slid the contract back over to him. "Fine. Give me my phone."

He smiled cheekily and handed her phone back to her. She snatched it and went to her settings to put a lock on it. She had to prevent this from ever happening again.

The star walked around the car and threw an arm over her shoulder. "Now tgat we're both happy, let's go home," he purred into her ear.

Her anger slowly started to fade as he led her to his car. Why did he have to be so...infatuating? It wasn't fair for one person to have so much sex appeal or be so amusing.

XXX

"And last, but certainly not least, the master bedroom. It's kinda close to your room; I hope you don't mind. You'll be in here a lot because Olette likes to just drop things everywhere and won't bother to pick them up. I hate it when she does that."

"It's fine. My sister does the same, so I'm used to it."

Again, speaking of said Puerto Rican devil...

Olette walked out of the connected bathroom in a pair of Roxas' sweatpants and her bra. The sweats were loose on her and had _JoJo_ printed on the right leg in bright yellow, which matched the color of her bra. Her hair was still slightly wet and curly, transforming her normal dark brown hair into something that resembled black. That made her piercing green eyes look a bit frightening up close.

As soon as she saw Roxas and Naminé, she smiled. "You must be the new maid. I'm Olette, Roxas' girlfriend. But you probably already knew that without me having to tell you. You probably read the magazines, I won't judge you if you do or don't because they're full of rumors. Haha, look at me, I'm rambling! What's your name?"

Naminé stuttered a bit. Did she really just forget her own name? "N-Naminé."

"Oh, that's beautiful! You're welcome to use everything here. Except Roxy, of course," she laughed. There was a bit of seriousness in her voice that Naminé caught on to. And she didn't miss the way Roxas turned his head and rolled his eyes, or the small sneer on his face as he did so.

"Trust me, I don't want him. He's an asshole," Naminé smiled innocently.

Olette's expression morphed into one of complete elation as she rudely pushed Roxas away. Roxas' expression was a mixture of _what the fuck_ and _dude, really?_ "You understand! Thank God! You and I are going to be the best of friends!"

Now Naminé understood. Olette saw Roxas as a trophy instead of a human being with actual feelings. Whether she actually loved him, or even cared about him, was highly debatable. But she kept this to herself.

Roxas gently pushed her out of the way, laughing way too loudly for it to be genuine. "No, no! I'm sure Naminé has plenty of friends already. Don't you, Ms. White?"

"You can never have too many. I just want to keep her around me so that she isn't... _influenced_ by your charm. Doesn't hanging out with me sound fun, Naminé?"

It was like they were competing for her. She looked back and forth between their expectant eyes, gauging which one she wanted on her side in case of an emergency. Her new boss, or the girl that can make you and your new boss' life a living hell with just a couple phone calls?

"Of course. I could always use another friend," she shrugged with an awkward smile.

"Yays! I'm off tomorrow, so we're going to spend all day together! We're gonna have so much fun!" she squealed as she abruptly hugged the new maid.

"That's the last thing I need," Roxas muttered viciously under his breath as he glared at her back. "Come on, Ms. White. Let's get you home before I die of _cuteness_." He quickly led Naminé down the stairs and hoped Olette wouldn't follow. He seemed happier when they made it outside.

"Man, she's annoying. She truly does a fine job of grinding my gears," Roxas sighed.

Naminé gave a cute little giggle. "The people you love the most have a right to do that."

"Then she has _no_ right at all. To be honest, I..." The taller blond sucked in a breath and sighed. "Nevermind. Let's just get you home, Starr."

Naminé blushed furiously at the unique little nickname, which she was glad he didn't see. It'd be the death of her if he did. With a quick sigh of relief, she followed him to the navy blue Escalade. Her sister Xion was probably flipping her shit right now because she was a whole two hours late getting back home and didn't answer her messages.

They sat in a heavy, awkward silence as he drove. It felt like their very lives were at stake; if they talked, it was all over. This feeling only went away whenever he asked her for directions and she answered. His speeding contributed to Naminé's silence. He did 105 the entire way there.

"This house right here." He slowed from his ridiculous speed and pulled up to the curb in front of the average sized white house. _White for Ms. White_ , he laughed in his head.

"Thanks," she mumbled.

"No problem. I'll pick you up in the morning and call about an hour before I get here. Good night, Starr."

"Why Starr, of all things to call me?" she asked.

"Back in high school, and even through college, I was really into astronomy and astrology. I found this really bright star, though not quite as bright as the North Star, with a purple-ish tint to it. I named it Starr. Two R's. You remind me of it because you're so unique and undeniably gorgeous...and fascinating," he laughed. "So that'll be your pet name."

Now what exactly did that mean? She would assume the obvious, but the contract also stated that she had to wear a collar. And now he's given her the nickname of a star he named Starr? Did he think of her as an actual pet that he could play with?

Either way, she blushed again. "Okay then. Good night, Sir." She stepped out of his Escalade- though she could've sworn he had a coupe earlier that day -and closed the door behind her. When she woke up the next morning, her life would change forever. Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, she didn't know.

XXX

Around midnight, she got a text from her new boss. _Call me. Emergency_ , it simply read. Fearing that something was wrong, she quickly pressed the green phone icon and held her phone to her ear.

He picked up immediately. "Good morning, sexy," he chuckled.

"What happened? What's wrong?"

"Mm, nothing. I just wanted to talk to you."

Naminé fumed. "You idiot! You had me worried! You do realize I have to be at work in the morning, right!? I work for you now!"

"Calm down. Let's talk okay? Okay, Naminé? _Okay?_ "

She sighed and flopped down on her stomach. He was acting really weird. "What are we talking about?"

"What do I have to do?"

"...To do what?"

"To get you to be mine. I want all of you."

Naminé's jaw dropped as she quickly sat up. Was he being for real? "How about not have a girlfriend, you perverted dick," she spat.

"W-What, Olette!?" he laughed in a high pitched voice. "Daw, she's not important! I'm gonna- I wanna, like, _do you_. And I'm gonna be your boyfriend," he slurred.

Wait a minute...

"Roxas, are you drunk?"

"Only just maybe a little bit. But it doesn't matter. I really think you're really hot. You think I'm hot?"

"I am not doing this with you..."

"Just be honesssst," he huffed. "I already told you how I felt. Tell me nowwww!"

"Fine! FINE! I, along with every other woman in the world, think you're drop dead gorgeous. There!"

The line was silent for a long while. Stupid drunk people, being all stupid. She was supposed to be going to sleep, yet she was wide awake entertaining his bullshit.

"Ooh-hooo," he laughed. "Does this mean I can have you now?"

"Dude-"

"Shhhh!" She could hear his soft giggling and resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "I want _you_. If you were with me, you wouldn't have to worry about nothing. Money's not a problem, I'd buy you whatevers. In the morning, breakfast in bed. After that, we'd spend the day together. And at night..."

 _Uh-oh._

"I'd make sure your body is well taken care of. I don't do the same thing twice. And if I do, the second time will be better than the first."

 _Yup. That escalated quickly..._

"While that is very tempting," she droned sarcastically, "You have a girlfriend. Go to sleep, Roxas. You're drunk."

There was a rustling sound on his end, followed by a soft thud. "That's not an answer."

"For crying out loud! I'm hanging up!"

"That's alright," he laughed. "I'm gonna fuck you one day, though. And you're gonna _love it~_ "

The line clicked off. It took her a few moments to realize that he actually hung up. Now mentally exhausted, she sat her phone on the dresser and pulled the covers over herself. If he didn't remember in the morning, she wasn't going to bring it up. The last thing she needed was to embarrass the both of them and make things awkward or uncomfortable.

When did life become so complicated?

 **XXX**

 **Ooh, contract! That's always fun!**

 **Oh my God, do NOT ask me if this is like, based off of, or inspired by 50 Shades. It is not. This is literally nothing like that. Three people have told me that and it's irritating.**

 **This will be nothing like the original Clean Up Woman. It's much better ;)**

 **Edited: 10.12.15**


	3. The Nice One

**3**

Naminé woke up to her phone blaring a ringtone she could've sworn she didn't have. She knew the singer was Jo, but she's never heard this song by him before. He probably changed her ringtone yesterday when he had her phone. It sounded nice, so she decided not to change it.

 _You will escape the tears on the runway_

 _I won't let you down, down_

 _You will escape the tears on the runway_

 _I won't let you down, let you down_

Instead of ignoring the call to hear more of the song, she picked it up and looked at the screen. The entire screen was a picture of her new boss, one she assumed he took yesterday. He had the phone in the air at an angle that made his hair look like it had gold highlights. Or made he did have highlights. He had his other hand over his mouth, but she could tell by his lifted cheekbones that he had a very uncharacteristic smile on his face. His eyes were slightly wrinkled at the corners and there was an extra hint of joy in his eyes. He must have been laughing when he took it. Right beneath his face were the words _All Yours_ in bold white with a heart emoji on either side.

That's why the contract said don't change a single one of your contacts. He did that on purpose. Sighing, she answered the call. "Sir?"

"Mm, I _like_ that. How are you? How did you sleep?"

Naminé raised an eyebrow at the questions. That sounded like something a significant other would ask Not your new boss. And she wanted so badly to bring up their midnight conversation, but decided against it. "Fine and...fine."

"Good, good. Guess whaaat? I got your collar! It's black, so it'll go with everything you wear!"

"Oh my God, yay. I'm so excited..." she cheered unenthusiastically.

"Now don't be like that. It'll be fun to be my pet, I promise. Get up and get dressed. I'll be there in an hour."

"Yes Sir."

He gave a small laugh before he hung up. Naminé rolled her eyes and went to take a shower. Since she was the maid, she didn't want to be overdressed. So, after she dried off, she slipped on a red polo that her ex-boyfriend let her keep, a pair of beige jeans, and some red flats to match the shirt. She decided to put her hair in another bun so it wouldn't get everywhere while she cleaned.

 _So plain. Why is my hair always in a bun?_

Lastly, she slipped on the necklace she'd gotten from her father. It was a simple silver heart with the words _Express Yourself_ on it. Before she left her home town, he gave that to her because the both of them loved to do just that in the art studio he owned. They loved to paint portraits of themselves, each other, landscapes, and the whole round. She was closer to him than she was with any other relative because she was a Daddy's girl.

"What would you say about me taking this job?" she spoke aloud. "Am I wrong for quitting Liquid Life to work for Jo?"

As expected, she received no answer. She looked at herself in the mirror and flashed herself her best smile, like she promised her father she would do every morning, and started to prepare for the rest of her day.

First off, she went into the kitchen to do her Super Secret Stay Skinny Ritual. It's something that no one in town knew, so she decided to keep this little secret to herself. Only her sister, who was asleep in her room, knew.

What is this Super Secret Stay Skinny Ritual, you ask? Absolutely nothing at all. All she does is eat a heavy breakfast, have a moderate amount of snacks, and a light dinner. She and her sister call it backwards eating.

Breakfast today would be the hot dogs her sister had cooked the night before. As she heated it in the microwave, her sister walked in and sat on the stool. She was about a couple inches shorter than Naminé with short black hair and cerulean blue eyes, but she and Naminé shared the same heart shaped face. Her name was Xion.

"Fix me a hot dog too," she yawned.

"Mkay." As she started on the second one, she thought back to what Olette had said yesterday. She'd be spending the entire day with her today. That should be a pretty interesting experience for her.

The two ate their hot dogs in silence. It wasn't until they finished that they started to talk. It was their usual nonsense and current events; updating the other on how their lives were going.

And then she accidentally mentioned Roxas.

"Roxas _Jones?_ There's absolutely no way you work for that god of a man!" Xion frowned.

Naminé shrugged. She didn't care if Xion believed her or not. That was her business. "Whatever you choose to believe. He should be over to pick me up in about half an hour. But nevermind that. I didn't mean to talk about him."

"I know you're lying because you wouldn't be so calm about this, but whatever."

"I'm only calm because he's an asshole. A complete perverted lunatic. Nothing I imagined he'd be. He-"

 _You will escape the tears on the runway_

 _I won't let you down, down_

 _You will escape the-_

Naminé groaned and answered the phone. It's like she accidentally summoned him by calling his name. "Sir?"

"Man, I will never get tired of that. Do you mind if I come get you a bit earlier? Olette's bitching again. _Don't eat my food, don't pull my hair, don't walk away from me when I'm talking, don't slam the door in my face!_ Ugh, can you believe her!?"

The platinum blonde laughed, but it was humorless. It was one of those _I can't believe you're this dumb_ laughs. "Then don't eat her food, don't pull her hair, don't walk away from her when she's talking to you, and _don't_ slam the door in her face. In some cultures, like this one, that'd be considered rude."

"In my culture, it means _stop fucking talking to me, bitch, it's too early in the goddamn morning and I'm barely functioning_ or _I do what the fuck I want, stop fucking talking to me_ or just _stop fucking talking to me._ She knows I'm irritable in the morning, so why she keeps yelling is far beyond my level of comprehension."

"She's a girl. We girls like to be treated with respect, regardless of how you feel at a certain time of day. Whether you realize this or not, we're humans with feelings."

"...I don't give a fuck! I be fucking tired and I'm rude when I'm tired!"

 _This guy_.

"And I bet she's a demon straight out of the deepest pit of hell when she's on her period, isn't she?"

Roxas groaned. "God, is she? She gets mad at me just because she's losing several liters of blood every month. But periods can't compare to my morning fatigue."

 _Several liters? She'd die..._

 _Wait, what!? He did not just say that. Those words did not just come out of his mouth._

"Excuse me!? Your problem can be fixed with a cup of coffee! Until you get a forced monthly subscription to Lucifer's waterfall and have to deal with fucking hormones, laziness, cramps, extreme discomfort when laughing or sneezing, and having to ask your friends to check and see if you don't have a crimson red water park on the back of your goddamn white jeans because it surprised you in the middle of the day and you only have one emergency pad left, don't say _shit_ to me about morning fatigue!"

The line was silent for a long while. She thought she'd grossed him out until he started laughing. "Did you just say Lucifer's waterfall!? I have got to use that! Lucifer's waterfall!"

Naminé sighed. "Whatever. You can come now if you want. Oh, and I need to swing by my job to quit."

"Alright. I'll be over in a little bit. Haha, Lucifer's waterfall..."

When he hung up, she dropped her phone on the table. "God, man."

Xion snickered. "Who started the period rant?"

"Roxas. He said his morning fatigue was worse than our periods."

Xion's eyes widened as her brow furrowed. "Oh hell no! He doesn't have to deal with his organs attempting suicide inside him so he doesn't know!"

"Right? That made me kind of mad! He's-!"

 _You will escape your tears on the runway_

 _I won't let you down, down-_

"Sir!?" Naminé spoke with an edge as she answered her phone for the third time in twenty minutes.

A deep chuckle flowed through the speaker and turned cold as it ran down her spine, causing her to shudder. Despite the reaction she had to it, it made her angry. Did he get a kick out of annoying her? "Nothing. I just wanted to hear you say it again. It gets to me in ways I'm sure you don't want to understand."

"That's considered sexual harassment."

"For boosting my ego?"

"Yes. You're my boss, I'm your employee. You shouldn't be calling me just to hear me call you Sir. You're only a couple months older than me."

"Incorrect. I'm four years older than you."

"What!? I'm twenty-one!"

"Baby, I'm twenty- _five_. I. E., four years older than you. Olette, however, just turned twenty-three."

Huh. That's not what the magazines said. Of course the tabloids get stuff wrong all the time, but how can you leave out a whole four years of someone's life?

"Either way, quit it before I tell Olette."

Her boss muttered something incoherent before dragging out a long sigh. "Fine. I'm outside."

As he said this, the doorbell ran several times. Was that idiot outside playing with the doorbell? Yes. She knew this because every time he pushed the button, he screamed _open_ into the phone.

"OPEN...OPEN...OPEN...OPEN, OPEN, OPEN, OPEN! OPENOPENOPENOPENOPENOPENO-!"

The furious blonde snatched the door open. "QUIT IT!"

"Hiya, sexy. You ready to go?"

Roxas was dressed in a topaz brown golf shirt neatly tucked into his blindingly white slacks that were held up by a thick black belt that filled the loops completely. His shoes were a pair of matching brown Vans. To complete his outfit, he wore a tight beige jacket where the sleeves stopped at the bends of his elbows. She couldn't see his tattoos, but whatever.

 _This man knows how to accentuate his looks down to the very last detail..._ Naminé thought.

His eyebrow piercing was in place, forcing the world to look at his perfect blue eyes that stood out because of the subtle eyeliner he had on. His windblown spikes looked much more realistic in person than they did on a screen. Natural, even. To top it all off, he had on his signature black and white checkered wristband.

"Sure. Just let me brush my teeth right quick. You can come in."

The most adorable expression of amusement and confusion took over his features as he stepped inside. She nearly swooned at the sight of his infamous crooked grin, but she was quickly reminded of his personality. "You didn't brush them when you woke up?"

"I did, but I just had a hot dog!" she called as she ran into the hall bathroom.

 _A hot dog for breakfast? That's...probably the best and the worst idea I've ever heard of._

He waited patiently for her to finish. As he stepped further inside, he passed the kitchen door. And what did he do that for?

"OH MY GOD, IT'S JO!" Xion fell, but quickly got back to her chair. The poor girl was hyperventilating like crazy.

"Hey sexy, is this your sister!? I think she's dying!" he called nervously.

Naminé ran out of the bathroom with a small towel over her mouth. "This is what happens when people think I'm lying. Mr. Jones, this is my sister Xion. Xion, this is my idiot boss."

"Ouchies," he pouted.

"You can come and introduce yourself like a normal person. Don't be crazy."

Xion pushed the hot dog away and tried to calm her breathing as she approached the two. "So um hi. I'm Xion," she smiled nervously.

"I'm aware. That's a very pretty name."

"...Sweet Jesus, why are you so perfect!?"

Roxas laughed. "Naminé, she's adorable. Can I keep her?"

"YES YOU CAN!" Xion cried as she hugged him.

Naminé rolled her eyes. "Xi, get off of him!"

"No, no. Roxas likes," the star smiled as he rubbed her back.

After two minutes of trying to pry Xion away, Naminé got sick of it and kicked her in the back of the knee. When she fell, she quickly pulled Roxas away and out of the front door. "Love you! Don't get robbed!"

"I fucking hate you! Love you too!"

Naminé laughed to herself as she passed her boss up. Roxas shook his head in amusement and unlocked the car. If only Naminé could act like that when she saw his true identity. That'd be a day worth remembering.

XXX

Roxas pulled up in front of his mansion, but left the car running as he got out. It wasn't until she stepped down from the monstrously large black jeep that she saw there was another car parked in front of the garage door.

"You have friends over?" she asked.

"I do, but we're about to go. They'll all be in the living room as we walk in. If you look at them a certain way, they'll take that as an indication that you wanna have sex with them and will be even more persistent than I have ever been towards you. I don't feel like prying four guys off my new maid."

"Yeah, that's comforting," she faked a smile. "So how am I supposed to look at them?"

"If and when I introduce you just smile, wave, then quickly walk away. In front of me."

"Got it."

None of his friends noticed them enter the house. They were too engrossed in their own conversation to notice her. Or so Roxas thought. "Go wait for Olette in the kitchen. She's upstairs, so I'll go get her."

Naminé quickly slipped into the kitchen and sat at the island. Her first day of work would begin when Olette came down. According to Roxas, she was supposed to tell her which rooms needed cleaning while keeping her company.

Her world nearly ended when one of the guys walked into the kitchen. He was a tall blond with an indescribable hairstyle. Upon closer inspection, she realized who the blond was.

This was Demyx Trapson, the co-lead singer of Dead Alive. Though Roxas was the lead, he shared the title with Demyx. On stage, they were known as Jo and Trapson. Only the super fans knew their real names, which should explain why Naminé knew theirs.

Demyx didn't seem to notice her because he was doing something on his phone. Because of her super fan status, she knew he was addicted to it. He only ever gave it up when Roxas took it from him or he found interest in something else. She saw that in one of their interviews on TV and the tab- Screw the tabloids, they lied about Roxas age!

She watched cautiously as he walked to the fridge, grabbed a bottle of water, then headed towards the door. It wasn't that she wasn't excited to be seeing him in person; she just didn't want him to notice her and approach her like a second Roxas. It wasn't until he almost passed the island that he noticed her.

"Oh God, code pink," he muttered under his breath. "Hey there, cutie."

 _Whoa, his voice is deeper in person._

Panic rose in her throat like bile as he turned his screen off and stuffed it into his back pocket. He found something more interesting than what was on his phone and it was her. She hoped and prayed that he was nothing like Roxas, but at the same time doubted that he wasn't

"Um h-hi," she smiled.

Demyx sighed. "I'm sure Roxas probably told you about how "perverted" we are. That's all _them_ ," he said, motioning to the group in the living room. "I'm actually the nice one."

The amount of skepticism on her face actually humored the taller blond. "Is that right?"

"Yup yup. Do I look like the kind of guy that'd lie to you?" he grinned cheekily.

"Hmm, I'd like to say no, but I don't wanna lie to you."

Demyx laughed. It was a soft sound that bubbled out like that of a child, but so much more mature. "Ouch. That almost hurt. I'm being serious, though. Throw any kind of random, ridiculous test at me to prove it and I will."

Any test? Oh, she had the perfect one for him.

"I saw your interview. You hate the color white."

"I do," he nodded.

"That's your test. The next time I see you, I want your entire outfit to be white. If you can do that, I'll sit and have a decent conversation with you. And I'll give you three opportunities to ask me whatever you want."

He bit his lip and looked up to the top left corner of the room in thought. "Okay. But I don't need freebie questions. I'm good talking about whatever you're comfortable with. The last thing I wanna do is upset you in any way. I have the worst luck when asking questions."

Naminé snickered. "What does that mean?"

"I don't know. Like a few days ago, my friend called me over. She was crying, but wouldn't tell me what was wrong. So I tried to make conversation and asked her how her dog was."

"And how was her dog?"

"That's why she was crying. He died."

Her smile turned genuine as she tried not to laugh. "You do have the worst luck."

"I know! That's why I rarely ask questions that aren't apart of a greeting. So to break that rule...when will I see you again?"

"I...um..." Shit. She didn't think about all that. Now her perfect plan to test him was ruined all because she didn't know when or where to meet him. Life sucked.

"Hey, Roxas is going to a party on Saturday. You should go with him and meet me there, since Olette's gonna be working then. No doubt he's making you do the Arm Candy Deal."

Yes, the Arm Candy Deal was a part of her contract. She had to accompany Roxas to events whenever Olette couldn't make it, including parties. Seeing Demyx at this event would make it seem less like a contractual obligation and more like something she'd do of her own accord. Not only was she gonna get out of the house, like she so desperately needed to do, but she would be meeting up with a celebrity that could possibly have a genuine interest in her without having some ulterior motive. And if not, she'd have yet another platonic guy friend to do platonic friend things with. That...sounds a lot more pathetic than it actually is.

"He is," she sighed.

"Good. Find me there. I'm determined to prove to you that I'm a nice guy."

"I'll see you then," she smirked.

"See you then," he nodded. With that, he slid off the stool and slipped back into the living room.

 _If only Roxas had approached me like that in the beginning. Maybe I wouldn't think he was such a pig now._

Roxas entered the kitchen alone a few minutes later. "Olette will be down in just a few more seconds. I'll head out now." Again, he wrapped his arms around her in a hug. It felt weird, but she was enjoying it. Maybe he _was_ capable of acting like a decent man around her.

At least that's what she thought right before he smacked her butt again. She completely forgot it was a condition in her contract. He was allowed one and one only each day.

But it was almost like a wake up call. Had they stayed like that any longer, she probably would've done something stupid.

"You're a terrible person," she spat as she pushed him away, but he caught her wrist and pulled her right back to him. His arms were strong and comfortable. She melted.

"No one told you to have such a slappable ass. That's your fault." He gave her body a small squeeze before he let go, sporting that same loveable smile that he'd shown her every day for a year now. "I'll see you later," he winked.

And just like that, he and his friends were gone.

 **XXX**

 **Edited: 10.12.15**

 **Roxas' ringtone on her phone is Tears On The Runway part 1 by Tyler Carter.**


	4. Sad Story

**4**

Olette stayed on the couch with her face buried in a fashion magazine while Naminé started on the windows. She had on her collar that Roxas so generously left to his girlfriend to give to her. The bastard. She felt like a dog.

"So what kind of music do you like? Genre, I mean," Olette suddenly spoke.

"I like all genres, really. Heavy metal techno, rap, R&B, everything."

The brunette grinned. "You like country?"

Naminé smiled, feeling a bit giddy about the direction their conversation was going. "I feel like this is leading to Luke Bryan..."

"It definitely is!"

"I love him! He's, like, country music's hero!"

"And his _ass_ ," they both swooned.

The two started to talk about Luke Bryan for a bit, then eventually moved on to other artists, then eventually other topics. They touched almost every subject possible before they came to the one Naminé tried so hard to avoid. Sex.

Olette laughed a rare, genuine laugh as she put the magazine down. "Wait, wait, wait, didn't you say you were a virgin? You're making me doubt your virginess."

"No, no, no. I said when I _was_ a virgin. Please, you think I would make it far still being one at this age?"

"Maybe. Some guys like virgins!"

"Sucks for them if they think I'm one. The world is too full of it to wait for marriage, in my opinion. The best thing you can do is get married young or hope you give it to someone who truly loves you."

Though it was about sex, they weren't at all awkward. That's why Naminé loved being a Twilight Town girl sometimes. She and other girls could talk freely about these things to each other without being branded a whore. Most of the time, anyway. She didn't feel as though Olette would judge her.

On the other hand, a guy is a total pig if he even insinuates that he's had sex more than once. Laws for boys in Twilight Town were different from the laws for girls, but they almost always worked in her favor. So, despite the forced monthly subscription to Lucifer's Waterfall, she wouldn't trade her gender for anything in the world.

Naminé's phone started to blare that same damn ringtone she's had the misfortune of hearing four times today, causing her to frown. She took her phone out and sighed. "That's Mr. Jones. Sir?" she answered.

" _I love that!_ "

Naminé glared at nothing in particular and waited none too patiently for him to finish laughing. This guy was not only full of himself, but a real pain in the ass that throbbed with the succession of an automatic machine gun.

"Forgive me, I jest. Are you wearing your collar, milady?"

Really? He was gonna...nevermind. She'd already established that he was stupid.

She let her fingertips graze the tip of the black collar that had a single purple gem right in the middle. It was, as he said, cute and went with everything she had in her closet. "I am."

"That's amazing. You're actually wearing a collar. _My_ collar."

"It's a part of my contract, isn't it? I need the money, so I can't afford to break any rules."

Her boss hummed. "And what exactly do you need the money for?"

What... _did_ she need the money for? She would be a live-in maid, so not the bills. The two of them basically said she could use and eat anything in the house without having to replace it. Was money necessary?

Absolutely. In this world, you can't get anywhere without having your own money. She was a big girl and she needed to act like it. No, she refused to be some kind of kept woman.

She decided to keep the fact that she was moving back to Destiny Islands a secret. He didn't need to know about that. Not yet.

"Because I don't want to be taken care of like a child," she replied.

On the other side of the conversation, Roxas' jaw dropped. He forgot for a moment that he was talking to a different woman. This wasn't Olette, so she wasn't going to just laugh and agree with him on everything, or even get pissed and tell him to mind his business. No, this woman made him think a bit.

She was, as he previously thought, a one in a million girl. With a smile, he sat back in his seat and grinned as he stared up at the ceiling. "Oh, you are far from being a child. Call it a piece of my generosity, if you will. You can have _anything_ you want."

"What if I don't want that? I want to be able to do things on my own. I don't want anyone to just hand me everything. If I don't work for it, I don't deserve it."

Again, his jaw went slack. He didn't even know how to feel about that. Honestly, how often do you find a woman that wants to work for what she wants and actually follows through? Hell, she's probably the kind of girl that would decline a raise. She did give some of his tips back to him throughout the past year.

Naminé was...an anomaly.

 _Damn it girl. What are you doing to me? You're such a turn on._

"Is that all you called for? Don't waste my time when it's your house I'm supposed to be cleaning," Naminé spat.

"No, I was gonna ask...mm...nah, nevermind. My manager's flipping his shit over here. Let me get back to work so they can stop complaining. I'll talk to you later, hon."

"Please don't." And then she hung up.

Olette clapped once her phone was put away. "Nicely done, chica! I've never heard anyone talk to him like that. I'm impressed."

"Don't _you_ talk to him like that?"

The brunette smirked and shut her magazine. "Yes, but I'm his girlfriend. I think I'm allowed it. You, on the other hand, have balls. Not many people talk to him like that and get away with it."

 _They should. He's an annoying, arrogant asshole who needs to be put in his place._

Olette may have been the only one brave enough to do it, but he was used to her. Naminé wouldn't stand for his bull.

"Well thanks, I think. Come on, I'm moving to the kitchen."

She giggled and bounced into the kitchen behind Naminé. "F.Y.I. he's attracted to girls who can talk back to him. It's a good think you don't like him."

"Why's that?" Naminé asked.

"Because then I'd have to cut you like the last maid who tried to get with him behind my back. Her sneaking around was disgustingly sloppy and her face pissed me off, so I cut it."

The smile on her face betrayed her words. Naminé now knew she had to tread lightly and fend Roxas off at every given opportunity. "Okay."

"This is not a game. If you sleep with him, I will cut you..."

The two of them locked eyes in mutual understanding. The smile was fake, but the threat was real. "O-Okay! I'll stay away from him. I don't want to be near him anyway."

Her smile turned into a smirk. "Good girl."

XXX

 _She's sticking needles in her skin_

 _I turn with an ugly grin_

 _Her canvas doesn't leave a lot to fantasy_

 _But her peace at mind_

 _Can't stay inside the lines_

 _It's so confusing, the methods that she's using_

 _She knows she shouldn't leave a mark that I can see_

 _Will she ever find one million of a kind?_

 _It's cold and lonely_

 _But that's because she told me_

 _Lost inside her dirty world_

 _No one hurts this pretty girl but her..._

 _Oh, she's beautiful_

 _A little better than a man deserves_

 _You are not insane_

 _Please tell me she won't change_

 _Maybe I should let her go_

 _But only when she loves me_

 _How can I just let her go?_

 _Not until she loves me_

The music stopped. Jo looked up at his manager for confirmation. Hopefully he'd finally gotten it right. They've been working on these same two songs for hours now and it still "wasn't working".

"Well?" he asked.

His dark lilac haired manager closed his eyes and shook his head.

"Fuck, Zexion, _what!?_ What's wrong!?" he yelled.

"You tell me. I don't know what the problem is, but you need to get it together. This is beginning to get pathetic."

Jo started to hit his head against the microphone. After a few seconds of this, he threw his head back and sighed. "Tell me what you're looking for."

"This is sort of a sad song. I need you sad. You're on some kind of happiness kick and it's fucking up the song. Give. Me. Sad! _That's_ what I'm looking for!"

Jo dropped his head and tried to make himself sad. At this point, he'd just about cry to get this song right. But he was just a naturally happy guy. Not many things made him sad except for his past, which he refused to think about. So what could he think about?

Naminé amused him.

Olette angered him.

His friends annoyed him.

His family entertained and loved him.

This was a hard track to deal with. Had he been able to write his own song, it would've been done perfectly about the third time...give or take a few more times. But no. His contract with Takedown Records clearly stated that one or more of his producers had to write the last two songs of every album for their rock genre. Usually, they were good, but these two were really starting to piss him off.

"Can I take another break?" he sighed.

"Sure! It's not like I have other things going on in my life that don't revolve around you! I can stay here all fucking day and wait for you to do it right! Please, take your time!" he glared.

"Easy on the sarcasm. It'll just be a quick call. Less than five minutes, I swear." He pulled out his iPhone 6 plus- his business phone -and dialed a familiar number. As it rang, he walked out of the booth and went to take a walk around the inside of the building.

" _Sir_..." Naminé spat viciously.

"Are you busy right now?" he asked.

Naminé scoffed. "No, Mr. Jones. I'm not standing on a ladder trying to reach the dust on your ceiling fan. You didn't just put me in a position when I could fall off and break a bone or shatter this lovely glass table beneath me."

"Why is everybody so sarcastic today? Don't answer that. I need you to do something for me right quick."

"Yes?" she huffed.

"Tell me a sad story. A real one, not something you read in a book."

The line was silent for a long while. If she was thinking this long about it, then it must be something that happened to her. That'd be better because he'd actually feel what she felt. Hopefully.

"I think I have one for you. Picture a happy couple in your head..."

Roxas did just that. Instead of picturing himself with another woman, he pictured the happiest couple he knew. That couple was his mother and father. They've been married for ten whole years now and still love each other as much as they did when they started dating.

"Okay, I got the perfect couple. What about them?"

"Well, they were very much in love. They've been dating since middle school."

"That long?"

" _That_ long. Shortly after graduating high school, they planned on getting married. He proposed to her and everything. But this guy had work with his father in a building that was three cities away. He had to leave for about a month, which scared the girl to death. She was sure he would cheat on her, even though he promised her he wouldn't."

"Does the story end with the guy cheating?"

"No. But he _did_ cheat. She was so in love with the guy and so afraid to lose him that she instantly forgave him when he told her it was a drunken mistake. Right before he got on the plane to go back to her, he promised her he'd make it all better."

"Aw, that's actually kinda sweet...ish."

"And then his plane crashed. The girl never heard from him again."

Immediately, his heart plummeted into his stomach. This wasn't at all how he expected this story to turn out. He saw it all in his head like a movie and it hurt.

"Ouch..." he breathed. "I think that did the trick."

Naminé sighed. It was definitely about her and he knew it. "What did you need it for anyway?"

"A song. Apparently I wasn't sad enough to sing it or whatever."

"Glad I could help. I think I'm gonna go die a little now."

"Wait what? Naminé!? Shit..." He hung up and placed his phone back in his pocket. At least he could sing the song now.

XXX

Ever since that last call, Naminé couldn't get her mind off of Roxas. He was smart, so he probably already figured out that the story she told was her story. Would he bring it up when he got back home?

"KNOCKITY!"

Ugh...

Naminé slipped off the thick elbow length blue gloves that kept her hands safe from the different types of cleaning agents she used and went to meet her boss downstairs. She expected him to be gone much longer than he was. It had only been five hours and it was no where near dark outside. In fact, it was only one in the afternoon.

"You're home early, Mr. Jones," she called as she descended the stairs.

"I am. After I finally got the song right, my manager all but threw me out. I think I got on his nerves," he chuckled.

"Oh, so I'm not the only one you irritate?" she smirked.

"Not at all. I just pay special attention to you. Where's Olette?"

"She's taking a shower-"

"Oh, I didn't actually care. I just wanted to sound like I did. Come here, let me show you where everything is in the kitchen."

Naminé obediently followed behind him with her hands clasped behind her back. She listened carefully to all his instructions and directions and hoped she wouldn't forget when it came time to prepare a meal for him.

"Did you get all that?" he asked.

"I think I got it. There's just one little thing. How am I supposed to reach the upper cabinets?"

Roxas looked up at said cabinets and groaned at his stupidity. He could reach them because he was taller than her. She could barely reach the top of his head without having to stretch. Okay, maybe she wasn't that short, but still.

"I am so sorry. I'll get a step stool for you. Is that okay?"

She nodded, then leaned her lower back against the flawless granite countertop. "So what do I do for the rest of the day?"

"Keep me company. I won't make you cook today, but I do need you to entertain me as best you can."

Entertain him? Did he think she was some sort of stand-up comedian? Entertain him. What the shit!?

"What the shit? How am I supposed to do that?"

He laughed. "You can start by saying more stuff like _what the shit._ You're hilarious and I don't even think you try to be!"

"Entertain yourself. I'm lacking inspiration today, so I can't help you."

He smirked as he wrapped his arms around her and shoved his hands into her back pockets. Her face immediately went red as he touched his forehead to hers. "Maybe I will. Let's see what kind of noises you make."

"N-N...Noises?" her voice cracked, despite how desperately she tried to hide it.

"Yeah, _noises_. I bet you make the best kind."

Naminé opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Just an unintelligible squeak that failed to make sense. Her boss closed the distance between their lips, but didn't kiss her. "I was right. You make wonderful noises. Now make some more for me..."

Naminé struggled to breathe as he flashed that adorable crooked grin. "I-I don't think O-Olette would like this."

"I don't particularly give a damn. Olette who?"

As he tried to kiss her, she blocked his face with her hand and tried to move her face away. "No, no, no, no, no! I don't want Olette to cut me!"

"She won't cut you, I promise. What she doesn't know won't hurt her."

This, for Naminé, quickly became a life or death situation. Either he was going to back away or she was going to die. She valued her life a lot and wasn't about to let her boss get her killed because he was a damn perverted manwhore. So she kicked her leg up and kneed him in the only place she could reach.

He wheezed and dropped to his knees, already near the brink of tears. "Son of a _bitch!_ OLETTE!"

Olette popped her head in the kitchen with a bright smile. "See! I knew we could trust her!"

"God, It hurts! W-Why'd you let her _knee me!?_ "

Naminé panted, looking back and forth between the two. What just happened? "What the shit...?"

Olette giggled as she walked up to her and held both of her hands. "It was a test to see if you would give in to him. And you passed!"

"I risked my penis for you," Roxas whined.

"Now I know for a fact that I can trust you. Don't worry, sweetie. You're completely safe. Just don't ever sleep with him and I won't ever slash your fucking face. Mkay?" she smiled.

The blonde nodded nervously. "O-Okay."

The Puerto Rican model patted her head and smiled. "Good girl. Now I'm gonna go take a shower for real." She walked off happily and her long chocolate colored hair bounced with every step. Damn, she was even perfect at walking.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Jones. I didn't know."

"I-It's okay. It's mostly a dull pain now. Though had you given me a few more seconds, I would've warned you that it was a test," he frowned.

She bent down and helped him onto one of the stools at the kitchen table. After a few moments of awkward silence, he laughed. "I'm a little hurt. You _really_ don't want to have sex with me?"

That caught her off guard. If he expected her to actually have sex with him, he had another thing coming. She was a girl with morals and standards. When it came down to personalities, he definitely wasn't her type anyway. "You have a whole girlfriend; we're not dating. I don't even like you. Why in burning hell would I sleep with you?"

She lied. She just kept lying, thinking that it'd be true if she said it enough.

"I just assumed," he smirked. "I still haven't lost hope. Save those amazing noises for a later date, kay?" He playfully slapped her ass and walked out of the kitchen like nothing ever happened.

Even though she stuck to her standards, she couldn't tell herself that she wouldn't give in if he tried for real. It was hard enough to resist him when he was acting

Wait a minute!

"Hey, you already got one today!" she yelled behind him.

 **XXX**

 **Edited: 10.12.15**

 **The song is Killpop by Slipknot.**


	5. Temper, Temper

**5**

Day two of cleaning the Jones/DiCcirco house was a little more successful than the last. Olette, if possible, was even nicer to her. Which was weird, considering how many magazines said she was a bitch or a diva. The only time she had a problem was when Roxas would try to flirt with her, and even then her problem was with Roxas.

It was as if she herself was used to his constant flirting. As long as Naminé kept pushing him away, she was saved. And she wouldn't have to get cut like the maid before her did.

"God, Roxas, she doesn't _want_ you! Stop harassing her!" Olette complained.

He made a sarcastic noise in the back of his throat, but successfully covered it with a laugh. " _You_ hush. She totally wants me. Ain't that right, sexy?"

Before Naminé could even reply, Olette scoffed. "No one wants you."

"Everyone wants me! I'm fucking _Jo!_ Girls throw their panties at me on stage! That was actually a kind of traumatizing experience for me and the band, but you get the point."

It wasn't until Naminé saw their smiles that she knew they were joking around with each other. Which was understandable because they were boyfriend and girlfriend. She and her ex used to do the same thing until he...

Damn it. She wasn't supposed to be thinking about him right now. It hurt too much.

Her hands gradually slowed their movements in scrubbing the dishes in the kitchen sink. It was rare, but she often did this when her feelings were hurt and she kept thinking about what hurt her.

Olette noticed and pouted. Roxas briefly wondered if it was real or not. "Nami, are you okay? Did Roxas upset you?"

"No. I...I was just thinking about something that happened a while ago. I'm fine." Without even noticing, she bumped the gold engagement band on her left hand against one of the plates as she grabbed it.

This drew Roxas' attention to the ring. The story she told him yesterday really got to him. He stopped her arms from moving and placed a comforting hand on the top of her arm near her shoulder. "Hey..."

"Sir?" she asked softly.

"I'm sure he's doing fine wherever he is, okay?"

She smiled, but it had no real emotion in it. "I'm sorry, Sir, but I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't play dumb. I know it's-"

" _Leave it alone_ ," she snapped. She had to turn away from his shocked expression. He was an asshole, but she didn't want to upset or hurt him in any way. Jo was her idol, and would continue to be no matter what he did. "I can't get the dishes done if you keep talking, so please just leave it alone."

Roxas seemed genuinely hurt by that, but turned his back to both girls and pretended go check his phone to hide it. "I guess. I'm gonna head out now." He turned away from her and walked towards the door.

"Roxy, your jacket-"

"I don't need it."

It was thirty-six degrees outside and he was wearing a black muscle shirt, a red vest with shoulder length sleeves and loose khaki pants. Didn't he ever get cold?

Naminé sighed and continued to wash the dishes. Yes, it was a bit obvious that she was talking about her and her ex boyfriend when she told him the sad story, but he didn't have to bring it up in front of Olette. For some reason, she only felt comfortable telling _him_ that information, not everyone and their mothers. It wasn't for her to know; it wasn't for himto know, honestly.

In fact, why the hell did she tell him? That may have been the dumbest thing she's ever done.

The doorbell rang, which was odd because she was fairly sure Olette wasn't expecting anyone. "I'll get it." She grabbed a towel and wiped her hands as she walked to the front door, then tossed it over her shoulder. When she opened the door, a familiar blond smiled down at her. "Demyx? What are you doing here?"

"I figured you'd be here, so I stopped by. You said you'd give me a chance if I wore all white the next time you saw me."

His outfit consisted of a tight sleeveles V neck, a pair of jeans that bunched up at the top of his Jordan's, and a thin sheer scarf wrapped around his neck. Behind the scarf, she could see a white shell necklace that they often sold at that beach shop on the edge of town for people heading to Destiny Islands. Every single bit of it was white.

"Did you plan this?" she laughed.

"I most certainly _did_. And it worked perfectly. You mind if I come in?"

She was about to say no, but then stopped. This is Roxas' friend. If he trusted him enough to leave him and his other friends in his house while he was gone, then he should trust him to be inside the house now. Plus, he was by himself and Olette was home. "Sure. You're his friend, so why not?"

He closed the door behind him, made a comment about how good she smelled, and followed her into the kitchen with Olette. Naminé brushed the comment off as best she could. "Good morning, Your Heinous," he smirked at Olette as he slid into a stool.

"Ah, Demyx. It's always a pleasure to fantasize about you dying a bloody and painful death when you're here," she smiled.

"Likewise," he chuckled, though it was humorless. He seemed generally uncomfortable around her for some reason. Naminé definitely noticed.

 _Yeesh. The hate between these two is intense..._

"So!" Naminé called to get his attention away from the model. "Did you want breakfast?"

"Sure-!"

"Don't waste my food on him," Olette snapped.

Demyx glared out of the corner of his eye, even though he had his back to her. "It's Roxas' food, technically. _He_ paid for it, you didn't."

"I paid for the refrigerator, so everything in it is technically mine as well."

He laughed, but there wasn't a even a hint of true amusement or entertainment in it. It was almost cynical in nature. "Sorry, but I don't quite understand why you're talking to me like I care about you or what you paid for. Your money is worthless, your jobs are worthless, and you yourself are _worthless_. I don't care and I will never care. So don't talk to me about any of the aforementioned three, mkay? Mkay..."

"Who the hell do you think you're talking to!? Do you know who I am!?"

"Wait, wait, shh...did you hear that?" he suddenly asked.

Olette looked around, then shook her head. "Hear what?"

"The sound of the twelve and a half fucks I _don't_ give about the bullshit coming out of your mouth."

The two started arguing and screaming at each other at the top of their lungs, overlapping their sentences together. This really started to grate on Naminé's last nerve. It was too early in the morning for this. She didn't have time to eat her backwards breakfast because she was running late, so she was hungry and irritable.

No. If there was one thing she absolutely refused to put up with while working for her and Roxas, it was ridiculous arguments early in the morning.

"Why don't you _both_ try shutting the hell up!? It's too early in the goddamn morning for you to be screaming like that! I don't give a damn who started it, SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Naminé spat.

The two of them looked at her at her in fear. It was clear that she knew who she was talking to and didn't care, nor was she about to take it back because of their fame and/or social status. She said what she meant and meant what she said.

"Fine," Olette huffed.

Demyx lowered his head to avoid her gaze. "Damn. Roxas was right when he said you were a sexy beast."

Naminé huffed and returned to her dishes. Neither of the two at the island even dared to open their mouths.

XXX

"So, besides being Roxas' maid for the rest of your life, what do you want to do? Like, goal wise," Demyx asked her.

Naminé leaned her head in her hand while her elbow was propped on the table. Olette was upstairs because, in her words, she couldn't stand looking at his face anymore. "I don't particularly know. I thought I wanted to be a choreographer with my ex-boyfriend, but he isn't here anymore. Before that, I wanted to paint with my father, but he isn't here amymore either. It seems like every time I want to do something, someone close to me di...um, passes on."

Demyx sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up bad memories."

"No, you're fine. I've accepted that they're not here. I just kind of wish I didn't give up on my dreams because of their absence."

"If you had someone to help you get back into it...would you want to dance again?" he asked.

Dancing back then was a stress reliever. It helped her clear her mind when she had to much on it, it helped lighten her heart when she thought about her father, and it helped her keep her life on track. When she gave it up, she felt like a part of her died.

She wanted, no, she needed that feeling back in her life. She wanted to feel alive and didn't want to worry about anything, if only for the three to five minutes she was dancing.

"I haven't danced in a while," she admitted.

Demyx smirked. "I think I can help you with that. All I gotta do is make a few calls and arrange a few meetings."

"You'd really do that for someone you just met?"

He nodded. "It isn't for my own benefit. You're important to Roxas, so you're important to me too."

Naminé stared at him for a long while. It really was a genuine offer. His smile wasn't fake, neither was the small gleam in his eyes. He just seemed like one of those people who were naturally happy. If that was the case, he must have also been terrifying when he was pissed.

Demyx was harmless. He wasn't undressing her with his eyes or making sly innuendos every four or five minutes. In his eyes, she was just an interesting person.

"So...you knew who I was when you came into the kitchen yesterday, didn't you?"

"Mm-hm. Roxas has been talking about you every day for a year now. I feel like I already know you."

 _And that's why you want to help me._

She smiled and leaned her arms on the table in front of her, evidently closer to Demyx. Though she wanted to, she knew she couldn't. "No thank you. I don't wanna try dancing again. So what did you have in mind for our little date?"

"That's a secret," he smiled.

The front door opened right as Naminé began to speak again, but neither of them noticed.

"Secrets are so overrated. Just tell me what you're gonna do."

Demyx shook his head. "I will not. I wanna see the look on your face when you start to love me more than you already do."

"I love you?" she asked with a smirk.

"I love you too," he winked.

She laughed and shook her head. It could be classified as flirting, but she knew it didn't mean anything. It was more like two friends dicking around than two people showing interest in one another.

"What the hell are you doing here, Demyx?"

Naminé looked up at the doorway and sighed. Roxas was home. "Back already, Sir?"

"What the hell's he _doing_ here?" he reiterated with a frown.

"He just came over to talk," Naminé explained. "I just got through cleaning everything, so we just sat down here in the kitchen. He's nice."

Roxas scoffed and walked into the kitchen. "Forgot this," he muttered as he picked up a manila folder from off of the top of the fridge.

"What's that?" Demyx asked.

"Papers." He walked over to the sink for a glass of water. It irritated him that the two didn't talk while he was in there. They had no problem flirting the day away when they didn't notice him.

So he put the cup away after drinking his water and pulled Demyx into the living room by his necklace.

"Watch it! You're gonna break it!" he whined.

Roxas all but threw him into the living room and followed in behind him. "Look, dude, I don't know what the hell you think you're doing but you better knock it off."

"I wasn't aware that I was doing anything at all, Mr. Grumpy Dick," he pouted.

The shorter blond rolled his eyes. "You know you're like a brother to me, man. But if you even attempt to make any kind of move on Naminé, I will castrate you, make you a new vagina, and cunt punt you."

Demyx sighed. "I won't! You really think I'd do you dirty like that, bro? The boys and Madden before Jasmine from Aladdin. Our code is to be respected 24/7."

Roxas nodded. "Damn right. I'll catch you later, man."

"I want an apology!" Demyx called as he walked away.

"I'm sorry that my dick's bigger than yours!"

"...Well that's just plain _rude!_ "

XXX

Later that night, after Naminé went home, Roxas sat at the kitchen with a cup of Vodka spiked tea in his hands. It was the only thing that helped him sleep when he couldn't. Like Naminé, he had way too much to think about.

Olette found him after ten minutes of him being gone. She was wearing an orange tank top and a pair of black boy shorts. "Hey, what's wrong?" she asked.

"Naminé. Did you see the way she snapped at me this morning? I'm kind of worried about her. I was just trying to help, but she...I don't know."

Olette sat in the chair across from him and folded her arms on the table. "Well, Roxy, she probably feels like she doesn't need your help. Maybe she feels like you were trying to patronize her."

He muttered under his breath and took a few more sips of his tea. "I just want her to be okay and...you know what, nevermind. How was your day?" he asked.

Wow. He hadn't asked her that in a long while. Did he even truly care about her day?

"Well...Demyx came over. He and Naminé talked about goals, songs, and their upcoming date this weekend. But mostly-"

"Their what!?" Roxas yelled. "He wouldn't! He didn't! How did he even...!? When did they _plan_ this!?"

"On her first day here, I think."

Roxas threw his cup across the room and dropped his head in his hands. It shattered against the wall and leaked its contents all over the tiled floor. "Roxas, what the hell!?"

He didn't answer her. There wasn't anything he could say. Demyx had lied to him. The whole _respect the bro code_ thing he pulled earlier that day was bullshit. He should've known he was full of shit when he walked in on the flirting.

It wasn't the fact that Naminé could possibly become interested in Demyx. The problem was that Demyx lied to him after everything they'd been through. How could he?

"Honestly, I'm sick of how you've been treating me lately! You ignore me, you ignore my calls, you don't even acknowledge me in public, you don't do anything! I missed how things used to be!"

He laughed. How things _used_ to be? Surely that was a joke. "Then what's the point of this relationship!? Huh!? Why do you stay if I treat you like this!? Why, after years of my shit, do you still want me!?"

"Because I do."

"That's not a legitimate answer and you know it. Why. Do you still. _Want_ me?" he growled, genuinely confused. Hadn't she used him enough? What else did she want from him?

Olette rolled her eyes and looked away from him. Roxas' ears turned red as they sat in silence. He asked for an answer and she wasn't providing one. "Fucking **_answer me!_** "

Silence. She had no intention of answering him.

Roxas laughed bitterly. "I see. _This_ is why nobody gives a fuck about you. You realize that, right? You want what you want when you want it and you never take other people's feelings into consideration. You push other people away or drag their name through the mud snd threaten them when you don't get your way. Being a bitch isn't cute, Olette. It wasn't cute yesterday, it's not cute today, and guess what? It won't be fucking cute tomorrow."

He stopped when he saw her tears. As much as he hated to admit it, he didn't want her to cry because of him. It'd only come back to bite him in the ass later. And it wasn't like he could leave her. He signed an indefinite contract for their publicity stunt, which could only be broken by clauses unknown to him. If he even tried to walk out on her, he'd lose everything. What did it take to get rid of her?

All he knew was that until both of their managers gave the okay, he'd have to put his game face on and fake the emotions as best he could. If he couldn't have Naminé...he could at least put up with Olette while she was around.

"I'm sorry. I'm _so_ sorry, I didn't mean it. I'm just a little drunk. Go upstairs and wait for me. I have something special planned for you," he tried to smile.

Olette wiped her tears and nodded. Roxas waited until she started up the stairs to walk over to the fridge. There was a small amount of Vodka left, but it would have to do. He twisted the cap off and drank what remained. It wasn't enough.

Head hanging low, he trudged up the stairs and opened the drawer to the dresser in the hall. It had been a while since he last took them, but they'd have to do. So, without hesitation, he swallowed three of the pills dry and made his way to the bedroom.

The effects of the pills mixed with the alcohol worked quicker than he expected them to. His vision seemed hyperreal and Olette started to look better than she had a couple minutes ago.

He sat on the bed in front of her and brushed her tears away with his thumbs. "I'm sorry. You know I didn't mean it."

Olette clung to him as he trailed soft kisses down to her neck. "I love you, Roxas."

"I know, babe." It was a small sacrifice to pay so he wouldn't have to put up with her shit the next morning. He reached for the bedside table, hoping and praying he wasn't out of condoms.

The entire time, he felt like he was betraying his heart.

 **XXX**

 **Edited: 10.12.15**


	6. And It Begins

**6**

The alarm on a golden Galaxy encased in thick black rubber went off. That was his personal phone. It jolted a slightly dazed blond star awake in the most painful way. He knew it was a bad idea to take three X pills with a little over a fourth of a two liter bottle of Vodka, but he needed to if he was going to do what he did to Olette. It wouldn't be happening again anytime soon.

He was ashamed, but not of himself. The relationship he and Olette had, if you could even fix your mouth to call it that, was absolutely sad.

No, sad was when you found yourself sobbing in a corner because you realized you're trapped and no matter what you do, you can't get out. Sad was when you started making small incisions in your skin that you had to hide with a black and white checkered wristband because you thought that physical pain would be better than your emotional one. Sad was when you couldn't even look your partner in the eye, tell them _I love you,_ and mean it because you know you didn't. You knew deep down that you never did and never would.

What he'd done the night before, mixing ecstasy pills with alcohol to force his inhibitions away in order to almost enjoy sex with Olette, was just horrible. He was living in a nightmare.

Roxas grabbed his phone and shut the alarm off. It would be another two hours before he had to go pick up Naminé, so he had time to take a quick shower, eat, and get his mind right. His vision was a little blurry, but he managed to pick out a decent set of clothes and dragged himself to the bathroom.

The hot spray hit his skin and relaxed every single muscle in his body. He quickly scrubbed off the essence of the sleeping brunette in the other room, then just enjoyed the warm water. It took a few moments for him to realize it, but he was disgusted with himself for what he'd done. It wasn't supposed to be for her. He wanted someone a bit more delicate, yet feisty. Someone that wasn't afraid to talk back, yet someone who was terribly shy, no matter how much she tried to hide it. Someone who wasn't afraid to call him an idiot, but was terrified of hurting his feelings.

That someone would be _perfect_ for him.

What he wouldn't give to snatch that ever-present bun out and let her blond hair fall the way it was supposed to. Was it extremely long? Was it really short? It didn't matter because he'd pull it either way. He's already had several daydreams about running his fingers through her hair.

Her skin was already so soft. What would it feel like to have her beneath him without any fabric in the way? Did her lips taste like some sort of exotic fruit? Cotton candy, maybe? Would she call his name over and over again in that breathless voice that he heard during her test? The voice so desperately wanted to hear again?

It wasn't fair at all. He's wanted her for so longb a little over a year now. Ever since he'd first met her, he's wanted his fingertips to know the feel of her skin. He was only lucky enough to get away with the ass slaps, but it wasn't enough. Not being able to freely give in to his urges was killing him.

 _Demyx is ruining everything I've worked so hard for._

It was only right that he got to love her first. He saw her first, so she was technically already his. She accepted the collar and wore it proudly, though she did add her own little pendant to it. It had something written on it, but he didn't ask about it.

How could he truly make her his though? Olette meant nothing to him and she'd never mean anything to anyone, but she was in the way. Naminé was the one he had his sights on. She was sarcastic, but sweet; respectfully beautiful, yet so goddamn sexy that a blind man couldn't ignore the way her hips switched back and forth when she walked away pissed.

After the party tomorrow. Olette would be recording something with one of her girl friends and he'd have the house all to himself. That's when he would have Naminé. Damn what anyone else had to say or think about it. He wanted to love every single inch of her and that's what he was going to do.

XXX

Naminé noticed that her boss was smiling a lot more than usual. He seemed to be walking on air, unnaturally and uncharacteristically overjoyed. He was even being extremely nice to Olette.

Either they had really great sex last night or...what the hell else could have happened to make him that way? He wasn't making any passes at either of them and the innuendos had stopped completely.

"Roxas, are you glowing?" Olette grinned, assuming that she was the cause of his happiness.

"I am," he grinned back. "I've had an epiphany. I've finally found an answer to an old problem of mine. And I'll solve that tonight."

When Olette asked about it, he let a dark chuckle escape him and told her not to worry her pretty little head about it.

Before he left, he gave Naminé a look that frightened her. It was a twisted grin that was borderline psychotic. At the same time, it sent a delightful chill down her spine. She froze when he stopped by her chair and leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"I'm gonna get you," he smirked. "Count on that."

"What are you telling her?" Olette glared.

He looked up at her and smiled. "It's personal. Just assuring her that I'd keep her secret from the day before. Right, Naminé?"

She nodded numbly. Roxas smoothed her hair affectionately, then turned and left for the studio.

What did he mean he was gonna "get" her? What the hell was he planning?

XXX

At the party, Naminé met up with Demyx. As expected, he was as sweet and as suave as he promised to be. It was a good thing she decided to give him that chance. He was great. Personality wise, of course.

But every so often, she'd catch her boss doing something stupid out of the corner of her eye. Like right now, he was dancing wildly with a large group of people who seemed solely concentrated on just him. Though it was obvious he was completely wasted, she had to applaud his ability to look completely crazy and professionally choreographed at the same time. "He looks like he's having fun," she smiled.

Even Demyx was watching by now. "That idiot. He's shitfaced," he laughed. "In a minute, he'll start hugging everything in his line of vision. If you don't wanna get hugged, I suggest you hide."

True to his word, Roxas wrapped his arms around a pissed off redhead that desperately tried to pry him off. She knew him to be the guitarist in Dead Alive, Axel Priess.

Their late night phone conversation came to mind and she bit her lip. He hadn't mentioned the phone call, but she had a feeling that he knew about it somehow. Hell, she had a feeling that _everyone_ knew about it.

Naminé forced herself to look back at Demyx, who was already looking at her with a smile. The attention made her blush. "What?"

"Nothing. Just admiring your outfit is all. It suits you," he smiled.

She had on a pair of yellow jeans, that Olette insisted she wear, a beige shirt with yellow flowers, and a white jacket. And her main reason for sitting down instead of dancing? The black five inch strap up stilettos on her feet. That was Olette's idea as well.

"It really wasn't my choice of wear for tonight. I want to change because I hate yellow," she admitted.

"Don't. It looks fine. Roxas will love taking it off of you, though," he smirked.

Naminé blinked. _Why did his name pop up in here?_ "W-What? Why would you say that?"

"Oh, you don't know? I'll let you figure it out, then. Just know that the "feelings" he has for Olette are completely fake. He doesn't give twelve fucks about her."

Hesitantly, she looked back in Roxas' direction. His dancing didn't slack up in the slightest. In fact, she could've sworn he got an extra burst of energy after she looked away the first time. Plus, the crowd started to mimick his movements. It was highly amusing.

Their eyes met for a couple seconds. Her boss flashed her a crooked grin and threw her a wink before losing himself in the music once again.

Demyx laughed softly to himself. If his plan worked, the two would be in the sheets with each other as soon as they got back to the house. Roxas needed it and he knew that.

You see, that was his plan from the beginning. If he charmed Naminé into going on a date with him, it'd piss Roxas off and make him jealous. Add a little bit of alcohol here, throw Olette over there, and boom, _magic_. Why in the world would he go after Naminé himself? Roxas had been talking about the girl for a whole year, he obviously wanted her. And it was his job to get them together, like a good big brother should.

Now that Roxas was full of a colorful assortment of liquor, it was time to put the finishing touches on his plan. Get Naminé drunk and get the two together ASAP.

"Hey Naminé, would you like a drink?"

"Sure."

Demyx brought her the strongest drink he could find from the bar and brought it to the table. After only a little of that, he could tell she was ready. Not completely out of it, but willing to go along with whatever.

Right on time, Roxas stumbled over to the table and pulled her to her feet by her wrists. "Come dance with me, Starr."

"Not in these heels," she slurred. "I'll break my neck."

She didn't remember what was said after that, but she remembered being pulled to the middle of the floor. She remembered dancing, no, grinding on the man she was supposed to call her boss. And...she didn't care if it was wrong or not. With a bit of liquor in her system, she felt liberated and carefree. It was just dancing, no matter how close they were pressed against one another or how vulgar the things he whispered into her ear were.

Naminé felt alive in that moment. It was a feeling that she never wanted to let go of.

XXX

Slightly tipsy, Naminé stumbled through the door of the master bedroom with her boss. He forced her to go in there with him because he "needed to keep an eye on her" because of her tipsiness. Demyx so kindly dropped them off in Roxas' car, then had a friend of his pick him up in his own car.

"Are you sure Olette won't mind me being up here?" Naminé asked.

Roxas laughed and wrapped his arms around her as he fell on the soft sheets. She screamed, but it quickly dissolved into giggles as they bounced on the mattress. "...What was that?" he slurred.

"Olette! Will she mind!?" Naminé laughed.

"Ohhhh! Nah, she wouldn't cause she likes you. She won't care," he mumbled. He nuzzled his face into her neck and took in the delicious scent of his own cologne line. It smelled great on her, better than it did on Olette. "And _I_ like you too..."

"What?"

"Hmm?"

Naminé shook her head and sighed. She heard that clearly. Throughout the entire night, she'd only had two and a half glasses of...some alcohol Demyx gave her. That wasn't nearly enough to get her drunk. She had to remind herself that Roxas wasn't half sober like her. He'd say just about anything in this state.

"I like you," he repeated.

She rolled her eyes and laughed again. "I'm sure."

"I mean it," he said as he propped up on his elbow. "There's a lot to like about you. You're smart, funny, feisty," His lips hovered over hers with a small smile. " _Sexy_..." Their lips met and she tasted Vodka and other alcoholic drinks on his tongue. He had to be completely wasted right now and would have the hangover of a lifetime in the morning. It was wrong to take advantage of him like this, but the way his lips moved against hers felt so right.

As they kissed, he got straight to the point and unbuttoned those disgusting yellow jeans that belonged to Olette. He tried to pull them down, but struggled a bit. The jeans were so tight on her. "Damn, baby, why are these so hard to get off of you?"

"T-That means don't take them off," she panted helplessly.

"Bullshit," he grinned. "That means try harder." The jeans came down with one powerful yank that called for the use of both his hands. But at least he could get them off now.

"Roxas, don't. Olette...might-"

He leaned down and gently pecked her lips. "I want you, Starr. I want you so bad right now. She doesn't have to know." He helped her out of her jacket and threw it across the room. Though she still had on her shirt, she was embarrassed. Why wouldn't she be? She was laying half naked under her boss in the bed he shared with his girlfriend every night. And oddly enough, she wanted him more and more by the second.

He slid out of his shirt and flashed an almost frightening grin, though Naminé wasn't really looking at his mouth. Her eyes roamed over his toned chest and his rock hard abs. Or at least that's what they looked like. Her favorite part of his upper body had to be the tribal looking tattoos on his uper arms. If this was some kind of fantasy tale, she'd say they were curse marks of some sort.

Why was this man so perfect?

His lips grazed the tiny inch of skin between her shirt and her panties and she shuddered. "I've been wanting to taste you for a while now," he whispered against her stomach.

"W-What do you mean?" she panicked. He wasn't gonna do _that_ , was he?

He chuckled and gently spread her thighs farther apart. "Just relax and don't freak out. I wanna make you feel good." Naminé's breathing hitched as he pulled her panties down and lowered his face to her heat.

"Oh God, Roxas, don't-! _Roxas!_ "

He didn't listen, but a part of her was glad he didn't. Her fingers curled in the sheets and her back arched off the bed as he swirled his tongue around inside her, purposely brushing the top of his nose against her most sensitive spot. Occasionally, he'd tilt his head up to lick that spot as well. It took every ounce of her to try and force his head away, but her arms were traitors. Instead, they wound up pulling him closer.

Her fingers moved and tangled themselves in his hair. It had been so long since anyone made her blood boil in such a way. She was painfully breathless and enjoying every second of it.

Right before she came, he pulled away with a grin. He even had the nerve to lick his lips afterwards. "Even better than I expected."

They hadn't even had sex yet and her thoughts were all fried and scrambled. "Please, I-I can't...I can't. Olette will-"

"Olette, Olette, Olette. Guess what, _she's_ not the one on top of you right now. I need attention too. I want you to say my name as much as you say hers. I'd really like that." He ripped the shirt over her head and sat back on his ankles to observe the panting puddle of hormones before him. She looked up at him desperately, almost begging him to do something. That's what his mind told him anyway.

There was only one more article left to remove. Her bra. With hands that shook in anticipation, he reached around her to unclip it, then tossed it to the floor. Now her entire body was exposed to him and he loved it. She had a gorgeous body that he intended to shamelessly explore.

To his surprise, she sat up and trailed both her hands down from his shoulders to his chest to his stomach, holding back an approving moan as she bit her lip. She immediately started to undo his belt herself. None of the other girls he'd slept with had done that, which made it all the more sexy to him. Her soft hand reached inside his pants and slowly stroked him. It felt like she was born to touch him, like all this came naturally for her.

He groaned and bucked his hips into her hand with a hint of desperation. She quickly brought him close to his climax, but he didn't want to waste it on a hand job. With all the mental strength he could muster, he stopped her hand. "Third...third drawer," he breathed.

Naminé caught on and opened the third drawer to find a box of Trojans. Once she handed one to him, his pants and boxers were off in seconds. The condom was placed over his throbbing member and he dove at her like a hungry animal. He didn't want to hurt her, but he didn't want to wait anymore either.

When he pushed inside of her, she shrieked. The scream registered as pain and he panicked. If this was her first time, he was screwed. "Oh my God, are you a virgin!?"

"What? No! It just...stretched me more than I'm used to," she admitted.

He heaved a sigh of relief, secretly feeling a bit proud of himself. "Thank God. I'll try be gentle then." He started his shallow thrusts and pressed his lips to hers. Naminé wrapped her arms around his neck and granted him full access to her mouth. Her moans eventually got in the way of his kiss attempts, so he stopped and waited for her to kiss him instead.

And then someone's phone rang. Naminé's, he assumed.

"My...my phone," she gasped, seeing a way out. When she reached for it, he pinned her arm above her head and glared. She'd never seen so much fire in his eyes before. Not in a music video, not in an interview, not when he was angry, _never_.

"Let it ring. You're all mine tonight," he smirked as he increased his speed.

Her phone rang several more times during their little escapade, but he forced her to ignore it. Each time it rang, his thrusts became harder in an attempt to distract her. By the seventh attempt to reach her, they were both too loud to even hear the song play.

It didn't feel like a casual fling to her. It honestly felt like he knew exactly what he was doing. He whispered sweet words into her ear instead of lewd ones- like he did earlier in the club -or empty promises, he constantly asked what she liked and immediately stopped doing what she didn't like, and his hands seemed to automatically know where she liked to be touched. Overall, Roxas was patient and didn't ask much of her. And it was amazing.

Naminé was the first to reach her climax. A few beads of sweat trailed down from Roxas' neck to his chest and he smiled at the adorable face she made. "Do you want me to stop?" he asked.

"I'm done when you're done, _Sir_ ," she smirked.

That was it for him. That one word pushed him over the edge and forced his body to release with a violent shudder. He locked himself all the way in and let it pass as his body trembled and shook. As it passed, he buried his face into the side of her neck and held back what would have been an embarrassing scream. Instead, a loud groan came out in its place.

Eventually, both of their bodies relaxed and they were left panting. "Are you okay?" Naminé laughed.

"Aren't I supposed to be asking you that?" he smirked. There was no slurring, no high pitched voice, and no drunken laughs or hiccups. But because of what just happened, Naminé didn't notice.

"Yeah, but I'm not the one who nearly died afterwards."

Laughing, he pulled the condom off and threw it in the bin beside the bed, then collapsed beside her on his stomach with a thin sheen of sweat covering his body.

"Roxas?" Naminé called. Instead of answering her, he slowly shifted to his side and pulled her close. His right hand slid up the back of her neck and through her messy hair, like he'd always wanted. It _was_ soft. The tangles came right out, too.

"Yes?" he finally spoke, placing kisses all over her neck.

She was about to bring up Olette again, but shook her head. Why ruin the moment thinking about her? "Nevermind."

He chuckled and pecked her lips again. Because he was too lazy to get under the sheets, he folded the unoccupied side over the two of them and welcomed the warmth that radiated off of Naminé, sweat and all. "I told you I'd get you. Goodnight, my little saccharine Starr," he purred softly.

 **XXX**

 **Edited: 10.25.15**

 **Like it? Hate it? Let me know!**


	7. Three Seconds From A Heart Attack

**This chapter doesn't have much going on, but I have a surprise next chapter. Have fun with this until then!**

 **XXX**

 **7**

 _I hate you_

 _That's an understatement_

 _I hate you_

 _ **For who you are!**_

 _I hate you-!_

"Good morning, Olette," Roxas mumbled into his phone without looking at the caller ID. He had that one special ringtone saved just for her. He was having such a good dream until she called. It involved him and Naminé in a bunch of crazy positions under those very sheets. Sadly, he was only able to do missionary the night before.

"Good _morning_ , baby! I'm at the store right now, but I'm gonna be on my way in a little bit. I miss sleeping beside you."

"Alright, babe. I'll see you in a little bit." He hung up, sucked in a deep breath, then sprang out of bed to get his clothes on. She said she wouldn't be home until noon and it was only-!

Noon. Huh...

Once he had his pants on, he crawled onto the bed and lightly shook Naminé awake. "Starr, get up! Olette's on her way!"

"WHAT!?" She fell out of the bed and onto the cold wooden floor, then glared when Roxas snickered. How did she allow herself to sleep so late? Wait...how did she allow herself to sleep with her boss? She was so dead. If they would've slept any longer, Olette probably would have came in and found them asleep like that. That would have ended horribly.

Naminé quickly pulled her clothes on and looked to her boss for help. He didn't seem to know what to do either. "What are we supposed to do now!? We're so screwed!"

"Not yet, we aren't. Put your shoes back on, but don't tie the strings tight. These sheets need to go." He ripped the stained sheets off of the bed and ran out of the room. He returned a few minutes later with a new one and threw it on the bed. "Help me wrinkle this!"

Naminé assisted him in putting the new sheet on, then collapsed on the bed and rolled all over it to put wrinkles in it. By the time they were done, the bed looked slept in. Now the two were exhausted. "This is terrible. What have we done?"

Roxas covered up his face and groaned. He hadn't meant to sleep that late either. "Well, darling, we fucked up. We fucked up bad."

She was about to correct him and tell him that it was all _his_ fault, but she had her part in it as well. In fact, it was mostly her fault. He was drunk, but she wasn't. " _I_ fucked up," she corrected. "I wasn't...I wasn't even that drunk. I knew you were out of it and I allowed it to happen anyway."

"It doesn't matter. It happened. The only thing I'm worried about is keeping it from Olette for the time being. If she ever finds out, which she _won't_ , we'll just tell her we were both drunk, okay?"

Naminé nodded. "Okay. I'm really sorry about this."

"Don't sweat it. It was probably _fantastic_ ," he grinned.

XXX

When Olette walked into her bedroom, she saw a fully dressed Naminé tangled in the sheets with a messed up bun. Roxas was nowhere to be found. "Poor thing. You were probably way too drunk to function, let alone make it home by yourself."

It was a miracle that Roxas was still able to drive properly while under the influence. Yes, it was illegal, but Olette allowed it. You see, he was the type of drunk that could drive completely wasted for five hours and not crash, but would need help getting into the house after the car was parked. He could parallel park with no problems, but couldn't get his key out of the ignition. No one- not even the cops -understood it, but they accepted it.

Roxas wasn't the one to drive home, though. That was yet another thing they planned to keep from her.

Roxas came out of the bathroom with a towel around his neck and a pair of faded baby blue jeans on. "Hey babe. I let her sleep because she was impossible to wake up."

Olette raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Why is she here in our bed, though?"

"It was one in the morning and I was tired, so I figured why the hell not? I had to make sure she didn't die. Plus, we were still talking and just...fell asleep here. By the looks of it, I think we were planning to play that." He pointed to the PlayStation 3 across from the bed, in which the controllers were hanging from the TV in a way that looked impossible.

"Makes sense. Naminé, honey, are you alive?" she spoke softly.

Naminé didn't answer.

"Roxy, I don't think she's breathing."

Roxas reached over and gave her back a swift shove. She fell to the floor and groaned on impact. "My rib! God, ow!"

"She's breathing now," he laughed with a goofy grin.

Olette rolled her eyes and helped her up. "Naminé, it's morning. How are you feeling?"

"Like my face is on fire but my brain is cold. Is this what a hangover feels like?" she asked.

"It's different for every person. Like Roxas here, he doesn't ever get hungover. Lucky him, right?"

Naminé sat down on the bed and pretended to be in pain. Roxas' plan was perfect. It successfully saved both of their asses. And just in time too. "If you need some more clothes, I'll be happy to lend you some. By the looks of it, you had a rough night."

 _If only you knew._

"No, no. I don't want to be a bother. I need to go check in with my sister anyway. Mr. Jones, could you-?"

"Of course. Just let me get dressed and I'll be down in a minute." He tossed her a a small remote iut of the drawer and smiled. "This goes to the garage door. There should be a rack of keys beside the door when you enter it; the color of the car goes with the color of the key. Pick a car, start it, and wait for me."

Naminé went downstairs and opened the door to the large garage. There were so many cars to choose from. In the end, she settled for the Porsche in the corner and started the car like he told her to. It was almost below freezing and he needed the car warmed. But as she sat in the passenger's seat, she started to think back on what happened the night before. What if this made things a little awkward between them? She didn't plan to have sex with him, but she didn't try very hard to push him away.

The way he touched her was so...odd. Not odd as in _ew, never do that again_ , but odd in the sense that it confused her. It was like he planned it somehow. He was drunk, but he didn't act drunk when he touched her the way that he did. Was he pretending?

No. Not possible. He was drunk out of his mind. Anything else might get the both of them cut.

She didn't want to think about it anymore. She wanted to go home and stay home for the rest of her life, only opening the door for the pizza man. That too was impossible. Olette would find out when she came back and slash her face open and she couldn't object because it was all her fault.

Her thoughts shut down as Roxas slipped into the driver's seat and sighed happily. "Am I a life saver or what!?" he laughed. "God, that was extremely close. I think I nearly died of a heart attack!"

Naminé looked at him like he'd lost his mind. She was fairly sure he had. "How can you laugh about this? That was a little _too_ close."

"We're still alive, aren't we? Because of this overwhelming sense of paranoia I have, we need to get out of here. I feel like she's listening." He threw his silver Porsche in reverse and backed out of the large automatic garage door. Her house only took a couple of minutes to get to with his speed, but the drive still felt like it lasted for hours.

"By the way," he spoke to break the ice, "Your paycheck looks good. And my shirts feel nice when you iron them."

"That's good, I guess." Naminé wouldn't even look at him. She was so ashamed of what she'd done that looking at him would cause herself more pain. How could she allow herself to sleep with a highly inebriated man that wasn't hers? Why wasn't she more firm when she said no...or less desperate when she finally gave in?

It's all her fault. If his girlfriend kills them, she'll die knowing that she deserved it.

"Are you okay?" Roxas asked softly.

"No. How are you so calm? How can you look at me knowing what I did? Knowing that I...?" She swallowed the lump in her throat and shook her head. "I'm _not_ okay."

He smiled sadly, but kept his eyes on the road. "How can I not look at you? I'd be lying if I said you weren't the least bit attractive. I'd also be lying if I said I wasn't extremely attracted to you. What happened between us was nothing you should beat yourself up about. I'd rather not discuss this now, but I want you to know that I don't blame you. Not one bit."

He pulled up to the curb in front of her house. He didn't want to let her go like that. "Olette will come and get you in about an hour and a half. Try to act normal because she doesn't suspect a thing right now. Okay?"

Naminé nodded obediently, feeling the collar move slightly on her neck. Tears rushed to her eyes when he leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Roxas, I'm so sorry..."

The pads of his fingers gently touched the side of her face. Once the tears fell, his thumbs brushed them away. "Like I said, don't sweat it. You had alcohol in your system, so I'm certain you weren't entirely sure of what you were doing."

If she corrected him now, it'd only make it worse. So she stayed quiet and nodded again. After a few more minutes of trying to convince her that it wasn't her fault, he kissed her cheek again and let his lips linger there. "You're fine. I don't think any less of you for this. Please don't cry."

 _It's my fault_ , he thought.

"I'll see you later, Sir." She got out of the car and let the door slam shut.

XXX

Xion sat at the table with a bowl of bacon sitting right in front of her, a single strip dangled from her mouth. She absolutely refused to move a single muscle until Naminé fessed up. She knew she did something wrong because she was holding her bottom lip between the pad of her thumb and the knuckle of her index finger.

It must have been something really bad because she wasn't even blinking. Did Jo have something to do with it? That bastard better not have hit her or anything.

"I have to go back to work in an hour," Naminé mumbled.

"And?" Xion spoke around the bacon between her teeth.

Images of last night's events popped into her head and made her shudder. She fought down the goofy grin as hard as she could. It felt amazing, but thinking about liking it made her feel like a horrible person.

"Jo and I...had sex last night..."

Xion gasped, then quickly threw a strip of bacon at her sister's face. "Is that why you didn't answer me when I called!? You _bitch!_ You've been working for him for less than a week! It only takes six days to get you to spread your legs to a goddamn celebrity!? You whore!"

"It's not like I threw myself at him! He was really persistent!" she defended.

"Persistent my ass! You could've said no! You could've kicked him in his wee-wee for crying out loud!"

"Well he was drunk and I didn't want to hurt hi-!" Xion facepalmed at the exact same time Naminé slapped her hands over her mouth. She didn't want to tell her that.

The raven haired girl groaned in disgust. "I'm related to a perverted date-raping whore. I knew it. I always knew you were an undercover whore you...you _whore!_ "

Naminé buried her face in her hands and sighed. This is exactly what she should've expected from Xion, being Jo's "biggest fan" and all. But she couldn't exactly disagree with her. "Can you please, for the love God, stop calling me a whore?"

"You're a whore!"

"Says you! At least I didn't suck his dick on a crowded subway train on the first date! Does that little escapade sound familiar!?"

"We couldn't wait..." Xion mumbled as she sank down in her seat.

Yes, Xion did that to her current boyfriend on their first date. Whatever she did must have worked because they've been together for six years now.

Naminé hid her face in her arms as they folded themselves on top of the table. "Goddamn it...I can't believe I did that. I really am a whore. This whole week I've been trying to push him away. I'm a horrible person-!"

"Nami, stop. I'm sorry, hon. You're not a whore. Had I been in your position, I probably would've shagged him too. So you're normal."

"Um, thank you...?"

Xion laughed and ate another piece of bacon. "Enough about that. No need to think about it constantly and make yourself feel worse. Did you eat? You look pale."

Naminé shook her head. Like the good younger sister she was trying to be, she pushed the plate of bacon towards the blonde. "Share this with me. Who knows how much bodily fluid he forced out of you last night."

"I don't want it- What!? _Xion!_ "

"You've got a bad habit of not eating when you start stressing out. Eat, girl, then go take a shower to wash off the Jo. Try to stop thinking about it until you have to go back, okay?"

Xion was definitely right. Roxas wasn't stressing out over it, so why should she? He instantly forgave her for taking advantage of him, which was an absolute miracle at its best. So she shouldn't worry so much about it.

It was all behind them now. The best thing to do was move on, right?

XXX

Naminé closed her eyes and let the soap suds run down her body. Even though it was depressing to do so, she blasted one of Dead Alive's songs through her stereo speakers.

 _Three seconds from a heart attack_

 _And he just got paid_

 _His soul turns from blue to black_

 _Turning down the pain_

 _At the end of resistance_

 _Did he learn it's vain?_

 _Three seconds from a heart attack_

 _No one left to blame_

 _He drowns in this emptiness_

 _His soul screaming softly_

 _This day soon he will forget_

This song spoke to her in a way that made her heart constrict painfully. She was supposed to be forgetting what happened between her and Jo, but she couldn't. Something just didn't feel right.

 _He drowns in this emptiness_

 _His soul screaming softly_

 _This day, soon he will forget_

It may have been the One Night Stand Syndrome, or even the stupid crush that she and every other girl in the world had on him, but it felt like the sober part of him wanted that more than anything. It felt like he _was_ sober.

She didn't want to believe that. If she did, she'd screw herself over. Olette trusted her, but now she couldn't even trust herself.

Why was she thinking and acting like this? It was something he did when he was drunk, much like when he called her that time.

"If you were with me, you wouldn't have to worry about nothing."

She scrubbed at her arms and stared at the suds. Between the music and her thoughts, she thought sure she'd go crazy.

"In the morning, breakfast in bed."

 _Three seconds from a heart attack_

 _She's freaking out again_

 _She swore to God she'll never go back_

 _The light is getting dim_

"After that, we'd spend the day together."

 _At the edge of existence, she's just a shallow way_

 _Three seconds from a heart attack_

 _There's no one left to blame_

"I'd make sure your body is well taken care of."

 _She drowns in this emptiness_

 _Her soul screaming softly_

 _This day soon she will forget_

 _Don't wake me_

 _She drowns in this emptiness_

 _Her soul screaming softly_

 _This day, soon she will forget_

 _Don't wake me_

Naminé let the water hit her face and let out a pitiful cry of frustration. Why couldn't she just accept the fact that he was drunk?

She chanted _forget it, it's nothing_ in her head over and over until she started to believe it. Her heart lifted a bit as she sang the last part of the song.

 _I'm three seconds from a heart attack_

 _And I just got paid_

 _My soul turns from blue to black_

 _There's no one left to blame_

 _I drown in this emptiness_

 _My soul screaming softly_

 _This day soon I will forget_

 _Don't wake me_

 _I drown in this emptiness_

 _My soul screaming softly_

 _This day, soon I will forget_

 _Don't wake me_

When she was done, she wrapped a towel around her body, wiped the mirror, and stared at herself. She really was pale, but the color was returning to her face. She was _glowing_.

"I wonder if he's glowing too," she laughed at herself. In all her fear and self hating, she didn't get a good enough look at his face to see.

The last thing she thought about was her ex. She still remembered his smile and the sound of his voice.

 _No matter what you do in life, good or bad, make sure you do it right. What's the point of doing bad things if you're gonna do it wrong?_

It was a weird thing for him to say and she still couldn't make sense of it, but it did make her feel a little better somehow.

 **XXX**

 **Edited: 10.12.15**

 **I've been editing my chapters like I said I would~ Look at me, not being lazy as fuck for once. For those of you who read this the first time around, I hope you like the changes.**

 **Songs!**

 **100 Ways To Hate: Five Finger Death Punch**

 **Don't Wake Me: Aranda**


	8. Oh Loopholes!

**8**

The young blonde danced around the large living room with a bottle of Windex and a rag, playing music from her Note II with her boss' aux cord plugged to it. As hard as it was, she managed to refrain from doing anaux cord joke. Aux cord jokes and Alex from Target jokes just weren't funny anymore. Though it _was_ funny when someone mixed the two.

When Alex from Target gets the aux cord. The picture of Target on fire was hilarious!

She kept thinking about what happened between her and Roxas the night before. Now she was woman enough to admit she had feelings for him, but he was constantly flaunting his girlfriend around in front of the cameras. Whether he actually liked being in the relationship or not wasn't for her to decide. If he wanted to leave Olette, he would have.

But he _didn't_. The only thing she could do was forget about it, like he and Xion told her to.

"When the going gets rough right when it's hurting I will be there to help bear the burden. Any place, any time...you gotta know, for you, I'll fight."

She wondered why she downloaded a song Roxas wrote specifically for his girlfriend. She knew she was a bit of a masochist on the inside, but did that apply to her emotionally? This was really getting pathetic.

"Any place, any time. You gotta know, for you, I'll fight."

The song crossfaded into one of her favorites. This new song was Rather Be by Clean Bandit. Xion's boyfriend Riku showed her this song a while back because he said, and I quote, _you like gay shit like this and Sora had it stuck in my head._ The song was not gay.

 _Wait, isn't Riku coming to town Monday?_

"I nearly forgot! My baby!" This helped her get over her guilt because she was now excited for his arrival. He was her best friend in Destiny Islands before she and Xion moved to Twilight Town. Ever since they moved out of their parents house, they haven't had the money to move back.

With the new job, it would be possible. That revelation made her even happier. Finally, she could go home and see everyone again.

"You're in a good mood," a masculine voice chuckled behind her.

"JESUS!" She whipped around, pressing her back to the wall in fear. When did he get in the house? Well, the music was blasting, so he could've came in through the back door without her hearing him. Or he could be a ninja. Definitely a ninja.

"I prefer _Roxas_...but whatever floats you boat, hon," he grinned.

She breathed heavily, trying to calm her rapidly beating heart. He nearly gave her a heart attack. Her biggest fear was to have someone break into his house while she was alone in it. Olette was supposed to be with her, but she had a last minute meeting with her agent.

"I wasn't expecting you to be home this early, Sir. You scared me."

"Sorry. My manager told me I had to "dress more appropriately" because we have important people to meet with in about an hour, so I had to come back. I might be switching record labels, but I doubt it. I'll be quick and out of your way."

Dress appropriately? Yeah, a black shirt with upside down crosses that read S _uck My Fuck_ in bold white and a pair of red cargos wasn't at all appropriate. Pft, all that talk about being a professional man and he turned out to be as childish as a six year old.

"Take your time. It's your house, after all." She turned towards the window and resumed her cleaning, sans the dancing. Her mind eventually began to wander back to last night. She could never forget the way he touched her or the things he said to her. Looking at him made it even worse. It was stupid of her to think she could forget.

When Roxas came back, he was wearing a light green Polo, a pair of gray jeans, and his black and green Jordan's- with the small strip of white on the sides -that he'd bought a few days before. To top it all off, he still had that checkered wristband on his left wrist.

In an interview she watched, he said his grandfather gave it to him right before he passed. It must have been special, seeing as how he didn't even take it off when they...yeah, she didn't want to think about that.

"Oh and Naminé?" Roxas called.

Aw man, was she staring? Way to make things awkward. "Sir?"

"I think now would be good time to talk about last night. You see-"

"I get it, Sir. You have a girlfriend and I'm just the maid. I won't say anything or bring it up ever again if you don't want me to," she smiled sadly.

He raised an amused eyebrow and held back a smile. "Okay, _not_ what I was going to say," he laughed awkwardly. "You're-"

"I'm fired, aren't I? Way to go, Naminé. Screwing up the best paying job you ever had."

She wasn't listening to him and it was starting to irritate him. "No, it's about-"

"Olette? God, she knows, doesn't she!? She's gonna slash my face!"

 _Stop talking and listen!_ he thought. He had to remain civilized though. If he snapped, he'd say something he'd probably regret later. The last thing he wanted to do was fuck with her head even more.

"No, she doesn't know yet. I-"

"You wanna tell her, don't you? I should probably quit now so you won't have to pay my hospit-"

He was in front of her in seconds. Her back was shoved into the wall with extra force than what was necessary. "Damn it, can I finish a fucking _sentence!?_ " he yelled. "No, Olette doesn't know! I don't plan to tell her either because I don't want this pretty face of yours marred by that psycho bitch!"

The fear in her eyes made him feel horrible. He sighed and quickly tried to compose himself. "I'm not firing you and I'm _not_ going to let you quit. You signed the contract, remember?"

Naminé gulped and attempted to make herself feel less small compared to him. She failed miserably. "Y-Yes, I remember."

Roxas inhaled deeply. When he did, he got a whiff of the cologne on her and nearly lost it right there. "It would be much easier for both of us if we forget last night ever happened and start completely over. Okay?"

She nodded, obviously afraid of this new assertive side of him. He was usually such a goofy flirt that she couldn't take him seriously most of the time. The change was frightening. Did she do this to him?

"Yeah, okay. It'll be forgotten by the end of the day," she lied. This is just going to make her think about it more than she already did.

 _That damn cologne_ , he thought as it reached his nose again. He truly tried to remain professional, but he just couldn't do it.

The taller blond laughed. "You'll remember it a bit longer because of what I'm about to tell you." He leaned down and pressed his lips against her ear to purposely make her tremble. "I wasn't drunk last night either," he whispered with a grin.

Her eyes widened. "W-What? You kept falling over a-and you could barely keep your eyes open! Of course you were drunk!"

"Did you forget that I'm a part time actor?"

 _Son of a bitch..._

"Sweetheart, I was fully aware of what I was doing to you. I've wanted you for a while. And I _still_ want you."

"I...don't think this is really appropriate, S-Sir. What happened to forget it ever happened? You said that like five seconds ago!" she panicked.

He laughed and pressed his lips to her neck. The contact made Naminé whimper slightly. "I just changed my mind. You're too _delicious_ to resist. And I'm much too persistent to be denied."

Fantastic choice of words.

"W-What about Olette!? Your girlfriend!" she yelled.

"What about _me_ , Starr? There's a difference between attention and affection; she only gives me one or the other when it best benefits her. Here you are with all my attention and affection, yet you're finding excuses to resist me. Stop it already."

By then, Roxas had already picked her up and wrapped her legs around his waist. Again, her limbs were too weak to push him away. "It's not an excuse! I refuse to help you ruin your relationship!"

"What relationship? It's more like a partnership in a business, but with plain old boring sex every blue moon. You give me the rush I so desperately want in life." His lips were on her neck once again, sucking at the soft skin. And, as he expected, she made those same sweet sounds from the night before. The more he did that, the more Naminé tilted her head to give him better access.

"I meant everything I said to you last night," he whispered.

She had to think quickly. If she couldn't successfully get him off of her, they'd wind up doing it again. That wasn't what she wanted, no matter how much her body protested against her mind. "You have a meeting at work, Roxas!"

Roxas froze, then slowly let her down and pulled away from her. Her legs threatened to give out when they touched the ground, but thankfully they didn't. So much for not wanting to fuck with her head.

"Damn. I guess I'm off. I'll be back around...eight tonight. I'll see you then." With a smirk, he pulled her into a heated kiss that made her want him to stay. Why did he do these things to her? And how?

She panted heavily when he pulled away. "I'm really glad I met you a year ago," he smiled. Every part of her wanted every part of him now, but he was leaving. Damn her stupid hormones. Damn him and his persistence. Damn everything.

"Get yourself together, Nam. You have a job to do," she told herself. If only she could get her legs to work.

XXX

"So, do we have a deal? We'd love to have you on our team."

Roxas sat up in his chair and sighed. "Let me get a look at that contract again." He's looked at it twice already, but wanted to make sure he didn't overlook anything while he was distracted. The slight throbbing from the scratch marks on his back kept reminding him of a certain blonde maid, which stole his attention away from the deal.

"This..." He pointed to a section of the contract with concern. "All final business decisions will be made by the manager. Do I not get a say?"

The owner of the contract shook his head and laughed. "No, Sir. You can voice your opinion, but the final decision will be up to the manager."

Roxas started to tap his fingers against the table in mild irritation. "So basically, I don't have a say so."

"You most certainly have a say so, Mr. Jon-"

"Pause. For instance, if I wanna wear blue and the manager wanted me to wear red because it'd be better for publicity or something, then I'd have to wear red?"

"Correct."

"Then what does that mean!? I can't make my own decisions with you guys! I'm not going to have you bullshit me into being your fucking puppet! Get this out of my face!" He tossed the papers at them and stood up to leave.

"Wait, wait, wait! What if we...replicate the contract. Would you reconsider?"

Roxas scoffed. "Oh, I get it! So by replicate, you mean give the same fucking copy back to me so I can sign it? Because replicate means to produce a copy. I'm done here. Don't ever waste my time with this bullshit again. I will _never_ sign with this label, you hear me?"

He walked out of the conference room and slammed the door. His manager was right there waiting for him. "Well...?"

"You were right," Roxas shrugged. "They wasted my time. I can't believe I actually considered leaving you for these guys."

Zexion smirked and followed him out of the door. "Six hours of your life you'll never get back, I'm afraid. I'm irreplaceable, nonrefundable, and you just love me. Anyway, how's the little one?"

Since Zexion's never seen Naminé before, he referred to her as _the little one._ Hearing this made Roxas' anger slowly fade away. "Man oh man, she's perfect. She's moving in Monday."

The lilac haired man exaggerated a gasp. "No! You're moving you sex slave into your home!? Under the same roof with that beast!? You trying to get her killed!?"

Roxas glared. "She is not my sex slave, okay? She's my...dirty little secret. I care about her more than I probably should."

And the thought of letting another female have control of his emotions scared him, but he didn't say that out loud.

"Tch, you know I don't mind either way. I've been working on getting you out of that contract, but her manager scares the hell out of me."

"No shit. That guy crushed a full can of soda with one hand when you suggested we break the contract the first time. The only one who can convince him to break it is Olette."

Zexion sighed. "I'm not supposed to tell you this but...there is an exit clause."

One second, he was walking down the hall. The next, he was pinned against the wall with a desperate blond digging his fingers into his shoulders. "What is it? Tell me, tell me now, _tell me!_ " he begged as he shook him.

Zexion, despite his slight fear, laughed. "You have to catch Olette cheating on you with another guy."

...How was he supposed to do that? The girl was way too obsessed with him to ever cheat on him. And if she had been, she was damn good at hiding it.

It was then that Roxas had yet another epiphany. The contract stated that he had to stay with her. He didn't necessarily have to stay faithful to her. So he would stay with her while he was with Naminé. As long as Olette stayed ignorant to his relationship with their maid, everything would be perfect.

"Let me get a look at your copy of the contract," he smiled. "I feel like there are a bunch of loopholes I can find."

His manager chuckled and stuffed his hands into his pocket. "Jo, my boy, welcome to contract fucking."

"Contract fucking?"

"It's a family friendly sport."

"Makes sense. All family friendly sports have the word fuck in them," he laughed.

 **XXX**

 **Edited: 10.13.15**

 **And now you know he did it on purpose! It gets much more interesting from here. Till next time.**


	9. Crossing Major Lines

**9**

Naminé, Roxas, and Olette collapsed on the couch in exhaustion. The former of all three was the most exhausted. Since when did she have so much stuff to move? "So when are we-?"

 _Girl, get down, you can have more_

 _And you can shake your hips around on my man sword_

 _You gonna have to rock this house, I'm your landlord_

 _So let your sweat drip down on the dancefloor-_

"My baby!" Naminé answered her phone and ran to the kitchen.

Olette laughed and leaned her head on Roxas' shoulder. He was way too tired to do anything about it, so he just accepted it. "She reminds me of Yuffie. So fun and hyperactive. But the way she talks to you kind of reminds me of Larxene."

Roxas laughed. "You know, she does. She doesn't take flack from anyone, and she's fun to be around. Her friend's supposed to be coming to town today. I guess that's why she's excited."

"Hey, maybe we'll have two maids," Olette joked.

Now this was the part of Olette he liked. Sort of. When she was actually acting like herself and not some pretend lovestruck diva that pisses about when she doesn't get her way, he didn't have a problem with her. Like the day before, she threw a fit after Naminé left because she drank the last of the milk and he didn't want to go get more.

Why the hell did milk go so fast in that house?

Either way, he missed the times before they were famous; when he could just hang out with her and the guys. Ever since she got her little modeling job in high school her sophomore year, she's been treating everybody like shit. It didn't start with him, though. Their high school clique had to suffer through her fits, but she never treated Roxas like that. No one really knew why because she never told.

Then, when he became Jo, she finally admitted that she liked him in a romantic sense. He didn't mind it because she was a different person back then. He actually had feelings for her and was more than happy to sign the contract when their managers went over it. After a while, she started treating him like she treated everyone else. That was when he started to lose his feelings for her. Losing feelings grew into losing respect, then dislike, then eventually hate.

But by that time, it was already too late to back out of the deal. He was stuck with no way out and more than just a couple cuts on his wrist.

"One is enough, right? She does a pretty good job by herself, plus I don't feel like writing two checks every two weeks."

The brunette nodded. She was about to speak when Naminé came back in the room. "Guys, guys, guys! You want to come with me to meet my friend!? He finally made it and I'm so fracking excited and-!"

"Calm down, calm down!" Roxas laughed. "Sure. Where are we meeting him?"

"The train station. My sister's probably already there, so you'll see her too."

"The one I wanted to meet!?" Olette smiled. "Roxas come on, let's go!" She was out of the door before either of them could get to their feet. Naminé looked back at Roxas, who shrugged. There was no explanation for her hyperness today.

When she turned to leave, he got in his previously agreed upon ass slap. Naminé tried so hard not to comment on it, and narrowly succeeded in keeping her mouth shut. Roxas laughed and followed her to the door.

"You're lucky I was feeling a bit nice today. If I did it as hard as I initially planned, it would've been on _fire_ ," he whispered as he passed her to get outside.

XXX

Naminé sat in the chair at the train station waiting not so patiently for train number eight, which was coming from Destiny Islands, to pull up. That was all she wanted in life in that moment. Last time he came, she had the flu and was highly contagious, so she couldn't see him. But this time around she was healthy and happy.

As if some mystical power that controlled the universe heard her plea for the train in her mind, it pulled up. She sat on the edge of her seat and waited for him to exit the train. "Where are you, where _are_ you?" she growled to herself.

Roxas watched her with a raised an eyebrow. He didn't have anyone in his life _that_ important to him, except maybe his mother and Demyx. As for his friends, they could just let themselves into his house. But Naminé was on the verge of killing someone just to see this friend.

A silver haired man exited the train with two red rolling suitcases, a laptop bag over his shoulder like a purse, and a large neon green backpack half on his back. Naminé took off running in his direction. "RIKU!"

He perked up at the scream and smile. "Nami, my baby!" In one swift motion, he dropped all his bags to the ground and wrapped his muscular arms around her. Because she was so small, or maybe because he was so large, she was easily swallowed in his hold. "Ooh, you smell good..."

Roxas sank down in his seat and seethed slightly. He's never seen anyone like this guy. For one, this Riku guy had long, silver hair that fell past his shoulders. It was, in the words of Olette, flawlessly perfect. His hair was short and plain, despite its odd, spiky style. Two, Riku looked really close to Naminé. This angered him because Naminé would never run to him like that. She was only his maid because he threatened to factory reset her phone.

Which, in hindsight, was one of the best things he's ever done.

Three, his muscles were all but bulging out of his shirt. He was a chick magnet without even having to open his mouth. Speaking of, he learned that the guy's voice was hella deep when he _did_ speak. It made him shudder uncomfortably.

In said chick magnet's arms, Naminé giggled happily. "Um, thanks? How've you been?"

"Good so far. I've been working out to impress your sister, as you can see." He held his arms out in front of him to examine them for himself before sticking his hands in his pockets. He was wearing a dark blue formfitting muscle shirt, a short sleeved black jacket, and a pair of red jeans.

She took the two rolling suitcases from off the ground and led him over to Roxas and Olette. Both were wearing dark clothes and shades, which made Riku slightly uncomfortable. "Shit, are you in the mafia or something?" he asked.

Naminé laughed. "Me? Hell no!" Once she was in front of them, she smiled brightly. "Riku, this is my boss and his girlfriend. Mr. Jones, Ms. DiCcirco, this is my best friend Riku."

Though his mind was dead set against it, Roxas' body stood of its own accord and shook Riku's hand. "Nice to meet you."

"And you. You seem really familiar."

Roxas pulled his shades off and pulled his hood back a little. "You've seen me a lot, I'm guessing."

"Oh my God...oh my God, why didn't you tell me about this!? You _whore!_ " Riku yelled as he slapped her arm.

"I didn't get a chance to! The last time you were available, you and Xion were having phone sex!"

Riku pinched the bridge of his nose. "For the last goddamn time, it _wasn't_ phone sex. I fell down the stairs and landed on my little cousin's pile of Lego blocks. Why do I have to keep telling you that?"

"Whatever you say."

"Whatever! Don't try to change the subject! How the hell are you working for them!? When did this happen!?"

"A week ago. I will explain everything to later. Just please don't-"

"Can I have your autograph!?" Riku grinned at Olette, cutting Naminé off. "Sign anything you want. My arm, or something."

"Ask for an autograph..." Naminé sighed. It was useless. He was bound to ask one of them for it. And she had to admit that she would've done the same if she didn't already know what their personalities were like.

Riku smiled like a madman as Olette pulled a random sharpie from her pocket and signed his arm. Did she carry that around for that specific reason?

"Anyway," Naminé cut in before Riku could start rambling about stuff Olette wouldn't care about. "Xion's super late."

"Well that's nothing new. You can go if you have to be to work. I'll stay here and wait for her...with my new best friend!" he grinned as he linked his arm with Olette's.

The brunette laughed. "You are just adorable!"

"Haha! She think's I'm adorable!"

"Well, Naminé kinda _does_ have to be to wo-"

Naminé mushed her hand in Roxas' face and jumbled his words up. " _I_ can stay with you. What if Train Molester comes back?"

On Riku's very first visit to Twilight Town, Riku sat next to this guy in a trench coat on the train. He won't tell anyone what happened, but he ran off the train crying that day. That man was forever dubbed Train Molester. They've seen him in the distance a couple times, but he only ever shows up when Riku comes to town.

Riku laughed and shook his head. "I've been working out for that specific reason. If I see him, I'm gonna punch him in the goddamn dick."

Naminé peeked around him and pretended to see Train Molester. "Oh shit, is that him!?"

In a flash, Riku pulled Naminé in front of him and used her as a shield. "Please, please, please don't let him touch me again! I swear, I'll do whatever you want! **_Please!_** "

The two stars and their maid laughed at his reaction. There in the middle of a train station, a very muscular guy was cowering behind a really short woman, begging for protection with tears in his eyes. It was a sight to see.

"I'm _kidding!_ Don't ever let me get into a life or death situation with you as my survival partner! I'll die!"

Riku stood up straight and coughed into his fist. "Of course you were! I was kidding too..."

"Right. I thought the reason you worked out was to impress Xion. Now it's to fight your Train Molester?"

"Nah, I changed my mind. I don't give a damn about Xion. _We're_ in an affair, remember?"

"One that I didn't agree to."

"My goal in life is to please this sexy little body _right here_ ," he joked. He glanced at Olette and smiled. "And maybe this one too, if she lets me."

"Is that right?"

Riku squeezed his eyes shut and bit down on his lip. Naminé covered her smile and stepped behind Roxas for cover. The taller blond smirked down at her as she clung to him, but she didn't seem to notice. "We should go," she laughed.

"No, no, I kinda want to see this," Roxas smiled evilly.

"Xion! Hey, baby! I didn't know you were here!" he forced enthusiasm. He already knew he was in trouble. No one could help him. "You look great, haha! Really...great. I-I love you so much and-"

The raven haired girl attacked her boyfriend, which grabbed the attention of the surrounding crowd. Naminé pulled her two bosses outside to the car. "Wait, I wanna see!" Olette whined.

"We don't really need to be a witness to a gruesome murder, now do we?"

XXX

Back at the mansion, Roxas started to help Naminé unpack her things. He was forbidden to touch that one box next to the door, so he had to assume that was her box of "undernasties" as Demyx so hilariously called them.

Undernasties. That's almost as funny as _what the shit._

Roxas learned that she had a lot of things with backstories and sentimental value. Like for instance, she had this necklace made of bird feathers because she won a pair of earrings at a school carnival and a girl a grade under her wanted them. So she traded the earrings for the necklace she had. And this pink breast cancer pen that was out of ink, but she kept it because she took it from her ex-boyfriend way back then.

He picked up a familiar looking hat and smirked. It was a black snapback with a bright red capital J on it. "Is this _my_ hat?" he laughed.

"Technically, it's mine now. I won front row tickets to see you live and you threw that into the crowd. I fought some chick for it because I caught it and she tried to take it from me."

Realization hit him and he laughed again. " _You_ were the girl beating the shit out of that chick for the hat!"

"Yes, that was me. I used to be a _horrible_ person. Be a super awesome boss and help me fold these." She kicked a box over to him and sat down across from him. "Box one of five."

"Oh God..."

"And these are just my summer clothes."

"Oh God!" Just because she was Naminé, he pried the box open and started helping her fold the clothes. The room was silent, which quickly became awkward for the both of them. Neither knew what to say to break the ice. It didn't help that the room was freezing cold.

It wasn't this awkward before, so why now? They were pretty much used to each other by now.

"I need-"

"Can we-?"

Both blonds stopped immediately. "You first," Roxas insisted.

"I need to know why you changed your mind the other day. Why say forget it, then say you want me to be your secret?"

Roxas looked down at his hands and smiled. "Well...because. I told you I like you. And having sex with you was possibly the funnest thing I've ever done."

"It was fun...?"

"It's a compliment, I swear. I figured why put an end to such a good thing?"

Naminé deadpanned. "You have a girlfriend. That's reason enough, don't you think?"

"Haven't I already explained that situation to you? You ask why I changed my mind and I answered. I like you and I don't want to stop. Are you not satisfied with that answer?"

"No. How am I supposed to be satisfied with the fact that you want me to help you cheat on Ole-"

"Damn it, Naminé, stop that!" he yelled. He heard his own echo and lowered his voice. "It's always about her. The whole goddamn world pays attention to Olette. And for what? She may not show you this, but she is a terrible person. I do my damnedest to get the world to concentrate on me instead of her diva-like tendencies and tantrums, but nothing works. Being around her makes me look bad and people just _keep_ talking about her. Even _you_ won't shut up about her," he hissed.

Ouch. He really didn't like Olette, then. "So why stay with her?"

"Don't worry about that. It's business," he snapped. "After tonight, I don't want you to say a damn thing about her unless she's in the room. Got it?"

Where did this come from? All she wanted was answers to her questions. She didn't mean to put him in a mood or upset him. "Yes Sir. We can do this some other time. I'm gonna take a shower and get some sleep.

He nodded and stood when she did. Before she could walk away from him, he pulled her into a hug and buried his face in her hair. "I'm sorry. I just don't want you to talk about her."

"Yes Sir."

"And you don't have to say that when we're alone. The Mr. Jones act is for public appearances and when you're around...her. Say whatever you like at times like these."

Naminé gently pulled away from him and forced a smile. "I'll keep that in mind. I'll see you in the morning."

"Alright. Good night, Starr." He quickly pecked her lips and smiled down at her. His eyes held her in place, sparkling with a seriousness that only seemed to be directed at her. He wasn't angry. Just...focused.

Without thinking, Naminé pulled him down by his shirt and initiated an open mouth kiss, to which Roxas happily obliged. On several occasions, she wanted to do just that but was way too afraid to. That must have been what taking chances felt like.

Roxas was the first to pull away, which made her feel like he didn't like it. "I'm...Roxas, I...uh, goodnight!" She ran into the bathroom and locked the door behind her.

Sighing, he walked towards the door. He fixed his eyes on the box she told him not to touch. Whistling innocently, he kicked the box hard so it could cave in on itself and force the flaps open, giving him a view of what was inside.

 _Interesting..._

XXX

Sometime around midnight, closer to eleven than to one, Naminé woke up for a glass of water. While trying to forget about the awkward after effects of that kiss, she forgot to fill a water bottle full of cold water and place it on the floor by her bed. Now she'd have to go all the way down to the kitchen to get some.

With a yawn, she sat up and rubbed her eyes. It took her a full five minutes to wake herself up enough to stand, but she did it. Making it downstairs was a whole different story. The only thing that kept her going was thinking of how good that cold water would feel on her painfully dry tongue.

Her bare feet padded against the carpeted stairs, making absolutely no noise whatsoever. Before she could even make it to the kitchen, she heard a muffled groan coming from Roxas' man cave. If she could hear anything from there, the door must have been open because his man cave was soundproof. Sure enough, the door was cracked with a dull orange sliver of light shining into the living room.

 _The man cave is off limits, Naminé. Ignore it..._

She continued on to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. She didn't turn the light off because she didn't need it. Instead of drinking it there, she walked back to her room with it. Her foot hadn't even made it to the third step before she heard the sound again.

What if he's in there and he's hurt? He could be face down on the carpet in pain and unable to move? She had to at least see if he needed some kind of help. If not, she'd just go back to her new room.

She quietly walked over to the door and peered through the crack. In hindsight, it was a terrible, terrible idea. What she saw nearly caused her death.

XXX

"Gah, what the hell do you want, woman!? I'm trying to sleep!" Xion yelled over the phone.

"Can I talk to Riku? His phone was off, so I called you. It's really important."

Xion sat up at the sound of her sister's voice. She sounded hoarse and sick. Not flu sick, but deeply disturbed sick. "Sure." She shook her boyfriend awake and handed him the phone. "It's Naminé. She sounds terrible."

He sighed, but took the phone anyway. "Hello?"

"Am I on speaker?"

"No."

"Good. I don't know what to do. I slept with my boss last week when I thought he was drunk, then I found out he wasn't drunk and did that on purpose, then he basically told me he didn't want to stop having sex with me and just now he..."

Riku raised an eyebrow, though his eyes were still closed. "Xion told me all that. What happened just now?"

"He...oh God...h-he had my...over his nose while he...oh my God!"

Riku sat straight up. He was fully awake and extremely pissed now. How was that a problem? "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Are you trying to say what I think you're trying to say?"

"The tabloids said he had a panty fetish, but I thought they were lying!" she cried.

The silver haired man facepalmed. Things like this only happened to her, why? She had to be one of the most unluckiest people on the planet. If she wasn't so...prudish, this would actually be a good thing. "That's not a bad thing. You woke me up for _that?_ " he growled, only to get an earful of whining. "Alright, I'm sorry. Are you absolutely sure they were yours?"

"Yes! It had a bold black N.W. on the waistband!" she hissed. "They were mine, Riku! I don't know what to do or how to feel about this!"

"You put your initials on your panties?" he laughed.

"Only on the boy shorts. Now's not the time to judge me, Riku!"

"Calm down, first of all. Me being a guy who knows other guys with that type of "problem" often don't even think about the women they belong to-"

"He called my name. Several times."

"Ohhh. Well, speaking from personal experience- that will stay between the two of us or I will kill you _hard_ if you tell another living soul -it's perfectly normal. I've done it with Xion's, Sora's done it with his girlfriend's, every guy will probably do it at least once in their life. He's complimenting you."

Naminé laughed as she heard her sister scream for answers in the background. "Really?"

"No. I'm sorry. He wants to have sex with you. I suggest you hop on that. Haha, pun intended."

Naminé glared at her ceiling. That was so unhelpful. "Whatever. What do I do?"

"Truth? There's only two things you can do. If you're brave enough, confront him about it. If you're not, keep letting him steal your stuff and get off with them."

The blonde rolled over on her side and sighed. "Thanks for this. I owe you one. I-I think."

"Hell yeah you do. Let me know which one you decide to do and tell me how that works out for you."

"I will. Thanks again."

"Anytime. Just not at midnight, okay? While you're up, you might wanna look up the word voyeur. You might be one."

"What is that?"

"Google it. Night!"

She hung up and placed her phone on the dresser. In the morning, she would either look Roxas in the face, knowing what he did, and say nothing...or she'd tell him what she saw and let him explain.

Which option would be best though?

 **XXX**

 **Edited: 10.14.15**

 **Thanks to my lovely readers! I'll try to update this more. Right now, my priority is Blind Marriage. Oh, and the song was Comin' In Hot by Hollywood Undead.**


	10. Making A Benefriend

**10**

 _Voyeur/Voyeurism: observing unsuspecting individuals who are partly undressed, naked, or engaged in sexual acts; one who habitually seeks sexual stimulation by visual means_

Naminé gasped and dropped her phone. How dare he call her that? "Fuck you, Riku! Voyeur my ass!"

Before either of her two bosses got up, Naminé went down to the kitchen. She intended to make breakfast for the first time in the Jones house, but she finally decided to look up the word voyeur and concluded that Riku was an asshole. She didn't mean to watch him do that. It just sort of...happened that way.

Today's breakfast would be a double cheese burger with the works, sans onions for her and Olette, sans mayo for Roxas. Besides the onions, Namine didn't care what went on her burger. That should explain why she put jelly on hers.

Olette finally wandered into the kitchen at the smell of breakfast. Once she saw the burgers on the plates and the fries in the grease, she almost instantly got depressed. "Oh Naminé, I can't eat this! I'll get fat just from smelling this!"

Naminé took the fries out of the grease and put them on a plate with a paper towel to drain the grease. "You're worried about gaining too much weight, aren't you?" she smiled.

"It's my worst fear..."

"Here, sit down." Naminé patted the spot on the table in front of Olette's burger and waited patiently. Olette sat down, though a bit hesitantly. "Now, I'm going to share with you my biggest secret, okay? I need you to never tell anyone else."

It was an exaggeration, but you get the idea.

"I swear. Girls don't tell other girl's secrets unless they hate them. Your secret's safe with me," she said with a smile like plastic.

Naminé smiled and pointed at the burger, not really noticing. "This is how I keep my weight regulated. It's the reason I'm so skinny."

The plastic smile faded and was quickly replaced by a confused frown. "What...how...what is this fat-infested witchcraft!?"

The blonde laughed and shook her head. "Let me explain. If you eat a heavy breakfast, it'll wear off throughout the rest of the morning. Average sized snacks should hold you until dinner and your body will have burned off all of those calories, since we're constantly moving; plus, you and Roxas go to the gym regularly anyway. When dinner comes, you'll be only slightly hungry, so you'll probably eat a bowl of cereal or an omelet or something. That's less than what you're used to, so your body will start to use it's own fat because you didn't get enough at dinner. The next morning, you'll be extremely hungry." (1)

The brunette tilted her head and attempted to replay all the information back in her head. In other words, she was processing. It kind of made since. "So by reversing the order in which you eat your meals, it helps you stay skinny?"

"Mm-hm. My sister and I have been doing it for years. You're the third person ever to know my secret, so use it wisely."

Though she didn't particularly like the maid, she didn't hate her. She had to be one hundred percent sure that she wouldn't get with Roxas before considering her an actual friends. Knowing this secret made going through the motions of friendship so much more worth it. "Wow...thank you so much! Now I can eat what I want!" She grabbed the burger and took her first bite. "Oh, the greasiness! It tastes so good...I'll cry!"

"You're welcome. It's the least I could do."

Naminé went back to the fries and placed a healthy amount on each plate. By that time, Roxas had made it into the kitchen. Her blood ran cold and her heart immediately started to race at the sight of him. "Good morning, girls," he yawned.

"Morning Roxy!" Olette beamed.

Naminé sat down in front of a plate. It was hard to do, but she forced a smile as she spoke her greeting. "Good morning, Mr. Jones."

He smiled back and sat right next to her. That made her even more nervous. For a second, she almost forgot how to eat. It was as simple as chew and swallow, but her mind was elsewhere. Had he not been in possession of her panties while doing... _that_ , she wouldn't have been this frazzled. It was just a guy thing and she new that, but _because_ he had them, it messed with her head.

She crossed her legs uncomfortably as an imaginary ice cube slid down her back. No, this was far beyond the feeling of discomfort. She felt embarrassed and her privacy had been invaded. But beneath all that, she was slightly amused, and maybe even a little aroused, by the fact that he had hers and not Olette's.

Was that weird? That wasn't weird.

That brought on the guilt, which cycled back to embarrassment on the wheel of misfortunate encounters. How was she supposed to keep this under control?

Olette, surprisingly, was the first to finish. She wiped her mouth and stood from her chair. "That was delicious, Naminé. Thank you so much for this. I'm gonna take a shower and head out. Don't be late to work, Roxas!" she called.

"I'm off this week! A friend of mine is in town to use my studio for a little while!"

 _Aw fuck..._

Naminé finished up her breakfast and grabbed the three plates. Roxas grabbed her wrist and gently took them from her. "I got it today, baby," he smiled.

She swore her face was _burning hell_ degrees at that moment. Her blush was inevitable, even though she tried so damn hard to hide it. Him and his stupid pet names needed to go somewhere far away.

"How did you sleep?" he asked calmly as he rinsed the plates.

"Um...good. You?"

" _Great._ I fell asleep in the cave though."

Naminé gulped. Now would be as good a time as any to bring it up, but how?

"R-Roxas?"

"Yes, cutiepie?"

 _Deep breath, Naminé. Out with it._ "Well, last night...or technically this morning, I came down for water and...saw...you."

Unexpectedly, he laughed. "Okay. You saw me. Do you want a cookie or something?"

"N-No, that's not what I meant. I saw you in the cave. You were um...you...you were kinda-"

"Pleasing myself? I was and you saw it. I repeat, do you want a cookie or something?" he smirked as he looked at her over his shoulder.

 _So...he just doesn't care? What the hell!?_

"Don't be so awkward about saying it. Everyone that comes into this house is free to talk about anything they want...unless it's about the one whose name we shall not speak-"

"Voldemort...?"

He opened his mouth to correct her, then laughed again. "Yes, Olette is Voldemort. But anyway, you live here now, so you should get used to doing the same. You saw me doing what most human beings do; what's the big deal?"

Naminé frowned, face heating up from anger instead of embarrassment. "The big deal is that you had my panties clamped over your nose while doing it! What the hell is wrong with you!?" she hissed.

"I'm a man, Starr. A man with urges that can't be ignored sometimes. Plus, they were clean. It was your natural scent I wanted. Would you have preferred me going into your room for sex in the middle of the night instead?"

Naminé sighed and ran her hands through her hair. He had a point. A sick and twisted point, but a point no less. "Okay, we need to set up some boundaries," she growled.

"I don't know about that. Boundaries don't like me because I often cross them," he grinned.

"I'm serious, Roxas. That was super weird and embarrassing for me. Let's at least establish a few ground rules first."

He sat beside her, facing her, and shrugged. His eyes tried to meet hers, but she made it clear that she had every intention to avoid those pretty blue eyes. It couldn't have freaked her out that bad. Then again, she did cry when she thought she took advantage of him. "Fair enough. What's your first rule for me?"

She turned away from him and placed both of her hands on top of the table, inhaling deeply. "If you're going to do that, can you at least shut the door next time? And don't take my things to do it!"

Roxas pouted childishly. That just wouldn't do. The door was left open on purpose. In fact, he was the one that drank all her water so she'd have to go refill it. "Well that's not fair. At least let me use your shirt or something!"

She debated on whether or not she should appease him. Maybe if she gave him the shirt, he'd leave her alone. Then Roxas wouldn't be cheating on Olette and she wouldn't bring herself closer to getting cut on her face. "A shirt, Roxas. That's it. And I want it back the way I gave it to you. I don't want... _you_ all over it."

His pout turned into a dazzling smile as he nodded eagerly. "I'll wash it before I give it back. Fair?"

"...Fair," she shuddered in disgust. Was it really disgust? It could have been excitement.

That was her first rule for him. What would _he_ be getting out of this? A fantasy reenactment? A handy, perhaps? No...something a thousand times better than either of those.

"While we're on this subject, I want to be next to you at least once while I do it," he grinned.

Naminé jerked back in horror. "Are you crazy! No! I don't want to hear you, let alone see you! _Again!_ "

"No, no, that's not what I mean. You don't have to look at me. I just want you somewhere within close proximity. You can even be asleep when it happens. It won't be an every day thing, I promise."

He saw the skepticism in her face and reached over to intertwine their fingers. "You know I'm a man of my word. It'll be a one time thing. Say no if you think it'd be too uncomfortable and I'll understand completely."

 _Oh my God, this is the hand he used. I don't know if I should be disgusted by it or lick it._

Her fingers tapped against her knee anxiously. It wouldn't be so bad if she was asleep. And if she was awake, it wouldn't be awkward because she already saw him naked before. How many girls got to say that?

Wait a minute...how many girls got to say that?

"How many people have seen you naked?" she blurted.

Roxas looked up at the ceiling and huffed. "Well, there were the two maids before you, Olette, my parents, all of Dead Alive, my manager, a couple groupies, and you!" he smiled.

"And did you trick your first two maids into working for you?"

"I did not. The first was an official maid that I had a couple flings with. The second was just to keep me company and we just randomly started having sex. You...I've wanted you from the start. It was no accident," he simply stated.

He was so blunt. It upset Naminé. "What does that mean?"

"It means exactly what I said. I wanted you, I _got_ you. You'll be my secret lady friend with whom I have nice conversations and sexy relations," he whispered in a goofy foreign accent. "I'll elaborate a little more another day. I, in no way, want you to be my whore. And I'll never refer to you as one either."

The platinum blonde sighed. She really didn't care anymore. It wasn't as if he'd actually get sex from her again. It couldn't happen. "Fine. If I'm asleep, don't wake me up with your noise."

"Deal. I suppose you have another rule for me?"

She nodded, but paused. That was the only rule she had so far. With that out of the way, she didn't know what else to say. What else did she want? What did she want him to stop doing?

"Got one. Stop touching my butt," she frowned.

"If you're referring to the brief contact my hand is legally allowed to have with it once a day, no. That's in the contract," he smirked.

 _Damn it!_

"I've got one for you. I'll allow you access into the man cave. In return, you have to watch a movie with me every time you go in there."

That was...a nice idea, actually. She thought he was gonna say something stupid like strip for him or sit in his lap while she's down there. Though she wouldn't really mind the latter, as much. She sits in Riku's lap all the time and they're just best friends. "Deal. _But_ you have to let me call you JoJo now, since you call me Starr."

He chuckled. "Only my mom calls me that...but I guess I can make an exception for you, sexy. JoJo it is."

XXX

After their little chat about rules and boundaries, the two blonds had a better understanding of each other. Naminé got to work cleaning the house while Roxas followed behind her to make conversation. When you forget about the contract and their recent discussion, you could mistake the two for close friends.

Naminé started to forget about his perverted tendencies. He was just a smart and fun guy that loved to make her laugh. She was, dare I say it, comfortable around him now.

There wasn't much to clean, so she finished in two hours. Another two hundred added to her paycheck for those two weeks. She couldn't wait to see what it looked like Friday.

"Do you need help unpacking, still?" Roxas asked.

"I actually do. I didn't know I had so much stuff."

They were back to folding clothes, but were less awkward with each other than they were the last time. In fact, they were talking and laughing. This one particular subject, embarrassing falls, seemed to consume them for hours.

"That should be impossible!"

"I swear to you, it happened! I was walking up the stairs of my mother's house, I tripped and fell, but I was at the top when I stopped. Like, the one time I was somewhat depending on gravity, it let me down!"

Naminé laughed. Not only was that hilarious, but he completely defied the laws of physics. "I can't beat that. You fell up the stairs!"

"I fell _up_ the stairs," he echoed with a laugh. "But don't stop. Tell me more funny stories."

She looked up at the ceiling and pressed her lips together to try and hide her smile. "Okay. I told him I would take this to the grave, but this has to be told. He told Xion, so I gotta tell you."

"Uh-oh. What did you do?"

Naminé laughed. "My ex, Riku, and I played Bloody Mary once."

Now he was definitely interested. He pushed the box aside and laid down on his stomach with his hands supporting his face. "Tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me!"

Naminé rolled her eyes at his child-like eagerness, but told the story with a smile. "It was all my fault. We did the bathroom ritual and blew out the candle. I tried to scare Riku by touching his hand and he completely freaked out."

XXX

"Guys, stop playing..." Riku warned.

"The hell are you talking about?" Naminé asked as she touched Riku's hand again.

"You know what the fuck I'm talking about! Stop touching me!"

Naminé held back her laugh. "So you felt that too?"

Riku ran to the door, pushing on the door when he was supposed to be pulling. Since it didn't give, he panicked even more. "Guys, the door! It won't open!"

"Riku, calm down-"

"I'm not gonna calm down! SHE'LL KILL US ALL! I'm too fucking pretty to die here with you sons of bitches! I wanna go home! Let me the fuck out you raggedy demon bitch!"

Naminé tapped her boyfriend to tell him what she did, but forgot he was easily frightened when it came to the paranormal. "Holy shit, holy shit!"

Riku started pushing and twisting the knob and screaming to the top of his lungs. All three of them heard a hiss and shattering glass. Naminé didn't do that, so she started to panic along with Riku.

"OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR!" She screamed as she pounded her fists on the door. Her boyfriend attempted to reach for her to comfort her, but only scared her even more. Most girls would scream and cry, but Naminé attacked what she thought was Bloody Mary. "I'm not dying tonight you crazy bitch!"

"Naminé, stop! It's me, goddamn it! Baby, stop it!"

"Vanitas!? I'm so, _so_ sorry! God, I'm sorry!"

XXX

"Wait, wait, wait! So you beat up your boyfriend because you thought he was Bloody Mary!?" Roxas cackled. He had tears in his eyes and a sharp pain in his side, but he couldn't stop laughing. Especially at Riku's reaction.

Naminé placed the back of her hand to her mouth and smiled. "Yeah, I did. He didn't talk to me for a few days after it, but we eventually got past it. Turns out the hissing was a oil sheen can Riku accidentally knocked into my flat irons. It popped and hit the mirror."

Roxas wiped his tears and shook his head. "That's terrible, but that's so damn funny!"

"Don't tell anyone that, okay? Don't even bring it up in front of Riku." He promised, then fell back to the floor in tears. "It's not that funny, Roxas!"

"It is that funny! My sides!"

Naminé watched him laugh and pulled the box between them. "Alright, alright. I guess I'm folding clothes by myself."

"No, no, I'll help. I'm gonna be thinking about that all day, though. Tell me another story."

"I believe it's your turn, JoJo," she sang.

Roxas smirked to himself, a smirk that was hidden from Naminé. It sounded better when she said it. "Sure thing. Let me tell you about the time I fell off the stage."

XXX

Now that most of Naminé's things were unpacked, the room looked somewhat neat. There were still some boxes left, but Naminé assured Roxas she could handle them on her own. So he made himself at home beneath her black and furry comforter on her bed while she unpacked. She had the A/C on full blast and he was a little cold.

Finally, he admited defeat and took cover under more than one layer of clothing or blanket.

"Where has this comforter been all my life?" he mumbled into the black fur as he pulled it up to his nose. His eyes nearly rolled back in his head at the scent. It smelled just like her. He inhaled deeply and shuddered. Who knew someone's scent could be so arousing? There was a bulge in his pants that was, thankfully, hidden beneath the thick comforter. He pulled it over his head and let out a soft groan.

"What the shit, dude...?"

"Ignore me," he pleaded.

"Are you smelling my stuff?" she asked.

He reluctantly pulled it off of his face. "Um, no? I was examining this amazing fur. Where was this made?"

"China, I suppose. That's where most of our stuff is made."

"How true is that! We owe China a lot of shit!" he laughed.

Naminé smiled, but turned away from him. "Seriously, were you smelling my comforter?"

He mumbled his response so she couldn't hear him and pulled it back over his head. The scent continued to break down his self-control. What was it? It smelled like a lit Jasmine candle and Phantasm. It didn't smell that great on him, but it smelled amazing on her and he couldn't figure out why.

Phantasm was supposed to be a type of aphrodisiacal aroma for women. But when mixed with Jasmine, it had that effect on him instead.

He had to test this theory. But first...

"Naminé, would you be a dear and come here?" he asked as he pulled the fur off his face. When she was close enough, he grabbed her arms and pinned her beneath him.

"What the hell are you doing!? Get off of-! Don't you fucking dare!" Naminé pretended to sob as he licked the side of her neck with an almost desperate moan.

He quickly pecked her lips and sat up, seemingly satisfied with his work. "You're a wonderful maid."

Said maid was slightly dazed, wondering what just happened and why.

XXX

"What, man? What was _so_ important that you had to call us all here at two in the goddamn morning?" a redhead yawned. His hair was usually spiked wildly, but it was straightened out and flowing naturally behind his back. His eyes were a lifeless emerald green with bags beneath them, wrinkling the teardrop tattoos on his upper cheek slightly.

Roxas held up a pink v-neck. "I want you guys to smell this. Axel first."

"Rox, what the hell-?"

"Just do it!" he hissed.

Axel, the redhead, glared and snatched the shirt away from him. "Weird ass. I don't see the point of bringing me here to smell a fucking shirt." He brought the fabric to his nose and inhaled. The delicious aroma flooded his nostrils and made him forget all about his anger. He all but melted in his seat with the fabric clamped over his face.

It had the same effect on him as it did Roxas.

The redhead moaned into the shirt and sank down further into his seat. The other three guys he called watched in amusement. Basically, the whole band was there except for Tifa. "What did you do to him?" Demyx laughed.

"Not me. It's actually Naminé. All of her things smell like just like that shirt and I thought I was the only one with this reaction." He attempted to take the shirt away from Axel, but he had a death grip on it. It was clear that he wouldn't be letting go of it any time soon.

"So what does this mean?" the other asked. He looked identical to Roxas, but didn't have an eyebrow piercing. His name was Ventus.

"It means she's accidentally achieved what Olette failed to do, which was make a male aphrodisiac. It's not ginger and whatever the hell else she used, it's Jasmine and my Phantasm."

The three men caught on instantly. Axel just kept the shirt over his nose. "So are you gonna let Olette in on this little discovery?" the third asked. He had brown hair that wasn't as wild as the rest of his band mates. His name was Terra.

Roxas laughed and shook his head. "No. I'm gonna start a female perfume line with this smell, but I need you to keep it a secret until it's finished."

"Sure thing. Do you have a name for this new perfume?" Ventus asked.

Roxas smirked and looked towards the top of the stairs. "I do. I'll call it Starr."

 **XXX**

 **Edited: 10.17.15**

 **(1) Eh, this sounds about right. I heard a story about a lady losing a lot of weight this way, but I forgot how she explained it. That entire paragraph was my best guess at how that worked out for her.**

 **And yes, Vanitas was Naminé's ex. That will be very important later on.**


	11. Jealous Rage

**11**

As Naminé finished cleaning the next day, Roxas invited her into the man cave to watch Divergent with him. Insurgent was already out and he planned to go see it with her, but she needed to see Divergent first.

"Is this like Maze Runner or Hunger Games?"

Roxas exaggerated a gasp and threw his head back with his hand clenched tightly over his heart. "Don't you _dare_ compare Divergent to those movies! Yes, they're great, but Divergent is in it's own category! It's. Own. Category, Starr! Shut your face and watch!" He pushed her down onto the pleather chair and stomped over to the DVD player to put the movie in.

Then he plopped down beside her, reclined the chair a little, and pressed play. "Is this like Maze Runner. The fuck? _Maze Runner..._ "

"I'm so very sorry if I've offended you," she drawled sarcastically.

"You've offended me deeply. Now get the blanket so we can be comfortable."

Naminé got the blanket and spread it out over their legs. Roxas didn't notice it, but Naminé was somewhat enjoying this. Reason number one was because the recliner was made for one person. Roxas by himself was a pretty big person with his broad shoulders and wide chest, so the two of them had to scoot impossibly close together to fit. Their legs were tangled together and their hips were touching. In fact, she was almost laying on top of him.

Reason number two was that he was on this exact recliner when she caught him in "private time" the other night. The thought excited her, even though she felt like it shouldn't have. Did he realize this as well? Did he care at all?

He did say she had to let him do that at least once with her in the room. What if that one time was now? He probably wouldn't get another opportunity like this, so this had to be it. She actually...wanted him to. But she couldn't just blurt that out and look like a sex crazed idiot.

Wait, should she even ask him to do that? The decision should be his. If he wanted to, she was sure he'd pick the perfect time and place to charm the old snake.

Why was she thinking about that anyway!?

She sighed and forced herself to concentrate on Divergent. It was a great movie, but she couldn't stop herself from comparing it to Hunger Games. She kept this to herself, for fear of Roxas' whining to be twice as bad as the last time. Even though it basically had the same concept; the female protagonist felt oppressed by some higher power that seemed unbeatable until she made a few unlikely friends that were willing to help her fight against the odds for freedom or justice and whatnot.

Still, Divergent was a good movie. Her favorite part was when she had to take the final fear test with the birds, the fire, the near drowning, and the works. Tris handled it like a true Dauntless.

 _Tris should be super glad she switched from Abnegation to Dauntless. That really saved her ass._

Once Divergent was over, Roxas explained the concept of Insurgent to her, then switched movies. He was initially going to put on Oculus, but he forgot where he put it. Plus, he was secretly terrified of horror movies and didn't want to embarrass himself in front of Naminé by screaming.

So instead, they watched something called Kept Woman. What made the title ironic was that it was about a married man who kidnapped this woman and kept her in a house far away from his current home. So she really was his kept woman.

He shouldn't have, but Roxas laughed way too hard at that.

In the middle of the movie, Naminé buried her face into Roxas' chest because of her slight headache. She figured if she could still hear the movie, she'd be able to picture what was going on.

"Starr?"

Her instincts told her not to answer. If he knew she had a headache, he'd probably force her to take unnecessary medicine to ease it. Headaches like these went away after having your eyes closed for a few minutes. It wasn't that big a deal, really.

"I would wake you...but this is perfect. Stay asleep for me."

Immediately, she knew what he was going to do. Her heart started to beat eratically and she prayed that he didn't feel it. He probably wouldn't do this while she was awake.

He wasted no time pulling down his sweats to get to get to his member. All his last minute reservations about doing it disappeared when he wrapped his hand around himself. He couldn't take it anymore. Her scent had been driving him crazy all throughout Divergent and halfway through Kept Woman.

His hand, with a mind of its own, stroked his shaft at a painfully slow pace. He didn't want to wake her and wasn't aware that she was already conscious. But the more he thought of her, the faster his strokes became. It was a struggle to stay quiet and keep an even breath. No, it was nearly impossible. Every now and again, his breathing would hitch and his throat would let his moans escape.

Naminé debated on whether or not she should open her eyes. This is technically what she wanted, right? So why was she being such a coward?

 _Just do it. You saw him do it before._ _You had sex with the man. It's nothing different._

Bravely, she opened her eyes. There was only one word to describe the massive amount of emotion she felt in that moment: disappointment. The blanket was in the way and she couldn't see a thing.

There was only one thing to do at that point. This wasn't an awkward household, so she shouldn't be awkward. That's what he told her.

"Roxas?"

His motions came to an abrupt halt. Hopefully she was just talking in her sleep. If not, he was screwed beyond the point of physical mutilation. "Y-Yeah?"

"How am I supposed to see with the blanket in the way? Don't you want me to look?"

His eyes went wide. She was watching him the entire time? Well, he didn't do a thorough check to see if she was asleep, He just assumed when she didn't answer. So it was very possible for her to have been awake the whole time. But this was good, no...great. Amazing, even. She basically just said that she was going to lay there and watch him; therefore, she would be his catalyst.

His eyelids slid closed as he resumed his work. "Pull it back then," he breathed. When the cold air hit him directly, he hissed and stroked faster. Knowing that Naminé was watching made it all the more pleasing.

After a few minutes, he finally came. Naminé thought it looked similar to removing a cork from a bottle of alcohol that had been shaken. She took pleasure in watching his champagne run down the neck of the bottle and licked her lips slightly. That was more fulfilling than she imagined.

"God, there's so much of it," she smirked to herself.

"Well, there was so much to think about. But what about you? It wouldn't be fair to keep this feeling all to myself." He rolled towards her and trailed his hand from her waistband to the hem of her knee-length skirt. Naminé didn't stop it because she agreed with him and his disturbing logic.

Hopefully this really wouldn't be an every day thing. She didn't think she had the same amount of stamina as he did.

Ever so slowly, he reached his hand under the skirt and pressed the pad of his middle finger to the wet fabric. He wasn't even touching her actual skin yet and was being rewarded with a beautiful melodic response. Naminé gasped and panted and called his name as he rubbed her through the cloth, then skillfully inserted his fingers into her. He was amused, turned on, and a bunch of other emotions he couldn't understand but quite enjoyed.

He nipped at the skin on the side of her neck, drinking in her moans as he pleased her selflessly. If things went as planned, he'd have his way with her again.

"You want this just as much as I do, don't you?" he whispered. When she nodded, he grinned. "Use your words. Tell me what you want."

"I want you...please..." she gasped.

Everything he felt multiplied by ten when she unexpectedly came. Her legs trapped his hand between her thighs as she moaned loudly. Her high wasn't even gone yet and she was embarrassed by her reaction to him.

"There's so much of it," he teased as she rode out her orgasm. "Did you have a lot to think about too? Did you think of how I felt when I was deep inside you?"

Naminé covered her face with her hands and whined pathetically. He did _not_ just say that. She did not just let him _do_ that. She did not just watch him do that to himself. What was she thinking?

"What the hell is wrong with me?" she breathed.

He pulled her hands away and laughed. "Absolutely nothing, my dear. You're perfect." He leaned in to kiss her, but heard the front door open. Either they had a ghost in the house or Olette was home.

"Roxyyyy! I'm back!"

Shit.

The two blondes quickly fixed themselves in a panic. Roxas was certainly getting sloppy with his timing. If he was going to do this with her, he needed to start planning again.

"What is _wrong_ with me?" Naminé repeated.

Roxas gave her a reassuring smile and pecked her lips quickly, as if to make up for being interrupted. "Nothing that I can see, that's for sure."

XXX

What was the best way to get rid of the feeling of shame, embarrassment, and heartbreak? Do you take a shower or go see a friend?

Both.

As mentioned before, Naminé was already embarrassed and ashamed of what happened in the man cave. If she kept this up, she really would turn into his whore. She took the job for the money and to get her phone back. Sex wasn't in the contract, so it shouldn't have been happening.

 _He has a girlfriend_ , she reminded herself as she scrubbed behind her ears. _But I actually like him. What do I do?_

Speaking of his girlfriend, she was the cause of Naminé's heartbreak. When Olette came home, she came into the man cave and basically threw herself at Roxas. And he let her do it. She was forced to lay there awkwardly and watch them kiss each other like they've been reunited after ten years.

What the hell was that about? How do you touch all on one girl, then turn around and kiss the other? Happily, at that. She didn't expect him to just up and leave Olette because of her, but he was so distant with her before. In the cave, he all but attacked her mouth as soon as she got close knowing Naminé was there and watching.

Disgusting. Everything about it was just disgusting.

The warm water rinsed all the suds from he body. They wiped away any and all evidence of the man cave incident, but not the overwhelming sense of sadness. That was incredibly painful to watch.

Her mind went numb as she towel dried and slipped on new clothes. Clothes that were fit for a casual outing between friends or family. It was a black spaghetti strapped tank, a loose white sweater with a sleeve that fell off the right shoulder, a pair of beige jeans, and a pair of black ankle boots with fur on the outer rim.

Cute, casual, comfy.

She plopped down on her bed and scrolled through her contacts. She didn't want to bother Riku and Xion again, her mother and father were a whole town over, Roxas was a definite no, Olette was busy with the former, so...

Wait, she still had his number.

Right before she pressed the dial button, he called her. It was a freak coincidence, but she was glad for it. With a smile, she answered it. "I was _literally_ just about to call you."

He gasped. "Really!? Our telepathy powers are on point already! I was going to ask if you wanted to go somewhere. You should be off, right?"

"I was going to ask you that! And yes!" she laughed.

"Bro, we should be twins or something."

Naminé fell back onto her bed with a bright smile. "No, we _are_ twins or something."

He laughed, but quickly calmed himself. "I'll be over in a few minutes. You stay put now, you hear me?" he scolded playfully.

"I will, I will. Thanks Demyx."

"Anytime, Twin."

XXX

Downstairs, she could still hear Olette's incessant giggling from the cave. The door was still cracked from when she left and neither of them noticed. Man, when those two got started, they probably went on for hours. She was tempted to go and slam the door, but decided against it. She didn't want to be anywhere near the cave.

Her hair was in its famous bun. For a moment, she contemplated taking it out and just wearing her hair down. That would be breaking the rules, though. She only wore her hair down when she went to sleep at night and on dates. This wasn't a date.

Her love life, or lack thereof, was depressing. She was fawning all over a man who was in a relationship and only wanted sex from her. She allowed herself to sleep with him, and for what? He wasn't even her boyfriend. What would Vanitas think of her for this? He would be...so disappointed in her.

"I'm so sorry, Van. It won't happen again," she whispered. She touched the collar around her neck and frowned. Roxas owned her. That's exactly what the collar meant. He was her owner and she was meant to obey him like some kind of dog. She was his _bitch_.

With an angry growl, she ripped the collar off of her neck and threw it across the room. She refused to be anybody's bitch. Not even Jo's.

The doorbell rang three times. She got up and answered it. Of course, it was Demyx. "Hello my beautiful twin. You ready to go?" he smiled.

Naminé nodded. "Oh wait, let me go get my phone. It's on the charger upstairs."

"Hurry!" he called as she ran upstairs.

As she disappeared up the stairs, Roxas surfaced from the man cave. "Demyx? What are you doing here?"

He knew Roxas was crazy jealous about his "maid", so he just shrugged and smiled, batting his eyelashes innocently. Naminé should be the one to tell him because he won't get mad at her for it.

"Nothing. You look kind of...rough. Did you just wake up or something?"

"Nah, I was with Olette."

Demyx nodded with a groan. "I hate her so much."

"Ditto, but I needed it at the moment. I feel bad for Naminé because we all but pushed her out of the way."

"Well why'd you push her out of the way?"

"Because...we kinda got off just seconds before Olette got in the house and I just needed it. I didn't mean for it to happen."

Demyx nodded, pretending to understand. "I get it. You're a self-centered jackass."

Roxas was about to argue, but he heard Naminé giggle. "I got it!" She pranced down the stairs happily with her Note II in her hand and her hair falling in curls around her shoulders. Roxas drew conclusions and raised a skeptical eyebrow at Demyx, who averted his eyes.

"You're not wearing the bun!" Demyx grinned. "You're so code pink!"

Roxas glared while Naminé raised an eyebrow. "Whatever _that_ means. So what do you have plannedfor us?" Naminé asked.

"Whatever you want tonight. I'm paying."

Naminé thought back to Divergent. Roxas said that Insurgent was already out. Seeing both movies in one day would be awesome. "Let's go see Insurgent!"

Roxas' jaw dropped in slight anger. "Wait, wait, wait! I was supposed to take you to see that! Why are you going with him!?"

 _Jealousy_ , Demyx sang in his head.

Naminé smiled cynically. "I just now thought about it. Plus, I wouldn't want to interrupt your time with Olette."

"She can wait for Insurgent. You should just go with me. That's _our_ movie," Roxas said quickly.

"Nah, I'll just see it tonight. Be back soon!" Before Roxas could even reply, she pulled Demyx out of the door and slammed it shut.

Demyx looked back at the door and pouted. "Are you gonna tell me what that was about?" he asked, though he already knew. He honestly just loved to listen to her talk.

"Of course. That's what I was about to call you for." The two got in the car and pulled away from the curb. She barely knew Demyx, but she felt comfortable with him. So he was the perfect person to go to for advice at a time like this. "It's best I start from the beginning..."

XXX

Demyx let out a low whistle when she finished explaining. It was just like Olette to have the worst timing on earth. "That's not his fault, actually. Olette is relentless."

"It _is_ his fault, Demyx. When she sat on the arm of the chair, he clearly said _I need you right now_ , then started sucking her face off like he didn't just...ugh!"

That was new. As far as Demyx knew, he was never that way with her. "Did he at least apologize for forcing you to watch that?"

"No. When I got up to leave, he got comfortable in the chair with her in his lap. They probably didn't even notice I was still there."

Demyx rolled his eyes at Roxas' stupidity. He hurt another person's feelings because he couldn't control himself. This Roxas/Olette thing was really starting to piss him off. The guy's been talking about Naminé for a year now, so why not just tell her the truth? He's with her because he's bound by a contract. Much like the contract he forced Naminé to sign.

"I'm sorry, Twin. Roxas is an idiot," he smiled apologetically.

Naminé nodded, trying desperately to get those painful images out of her head.

XXX

Demyx brought Naminé home around ten. She told him she could stay out longer, but he told her he "didn't want to get her in trouble with Daddy." When she asked who her "Daddy" was supposed to be, he just laughed. Not once did he answer her.

"Here you are, Twin. Would you mind doing this another time?" he asked.

"Whenever you're not busy."

"I'm never really busy until Roxas is busy. That's kind of how Dead Alive works. Call me whenever and we'll find something to do."

Naminé laughed softly. "Sounds awesome. See you soon, Twin."

"See you soon! I already miss you lots!" he called as she exited the car. He waited until she got to the door before he pulled off.

Naminé grabbed the knob and twisted it, but it didn't give. The door was locked. "Did they really lock the-? Damn it!" She pulled out her phone and dialed Roxas' number. It went straight to voicemail. Olette's phone did the same.

"Of course," she huffed. He was probably upstairs with Olette. Or in the man cave. She rang the doorbell and waited.

And _waited_.

 _And_ waited.

Growling, she pushed it again. Even after two whole minutes, no one came to the door. Just because she went to see Insurgent didn't mean he could leave her outside all night. He knew she was coming back because he called her five minutes before she got there to tell her she had work in the morning.

She violently attacked the doorbell. It was cold, she was tired, and she just wanted to shower and read a book until she fell asleep. Still, no one came to the door.

With a sigh, she sat down on the cement and called her sister. It rang a few times, but went to voicemail as well. "Really!?" she yelled.

Olette peeked at Naminé through the blinds from upstairs. She felt bad for her, which was really saying something. "Roxy, don't you think you're being just a little unfair to her?"

"Nope," he smiled to himself as he twiddled the flat cellphone batteries between his fingers. He was pissed that Naminé went with Demyx to see Insurgent and not him. And also because he found the collar he gave her on the floor instead of around her neck. "If she wants to stay out extremely late with Demyx, then she can sleep at _his house._ "

Olette rolled her eyes at his childishness. "It's only ten."

"I don't give a damn, the sun ain't up. That's late."

Thunder shook the floors of the large mansion as buckets of rain started to pour. Naminé, taken by surprise, pressed her back against the door and hid her phone under the little piece of doorframe that was there. It wasn't fair to leave her out there in the rain for such a dumb reason. It made the brunette's blood boil.

"That's enough of this, Roxas. You're being ridiculous," she hissed as she tugged on a robe.

"Open that door for her and I'll lock you out too..." he glared.

"I wish the hell you would! That's no way to treat a friend, Roxas!"

"Oh, like you can even define the word! Why do you suddenly care!? You hate her!"

"See, hate is a really strong word. I just wish I had a reason to cut her fucking face. But at least I can admit when I'm going to far! Occasionally!"

 _More like every time I go ghost. Which is never_ **.** (1)

"Hey, fuck you, okay? I don't have time for your random bout of kindness to ruin my fun."

She snatched the bedroom door open and rushed down the stairs. Roxas was right on her heels. Before she could reach the door, he grabbed her by the waist and literally threw her onto the large couch.

When Olette tried to get up, he eased her back down with an off gentleness. "Hey, leave the door alone and come back upstairs," he whispered as he pinned her to the couch.

"Get off of me, Roxas," she glared.

He kissed all over her neck, hopefully making her forget that Naminé was outside in the storm. Still, she struggled until she was able to get one hand free and slapped him hard.

The slap stunned him, then angered him. "What the hell's your problem?" he roared.

"What the hell is yours!? You're fucking losing it! I'm fighting with everything I have to help someone I don't even like, someone that means a lot to you! And you're doing everything you possibly can to stop me! What's wrong with you!?"

Roxas panted, dropping his head. She had a point. He did care a lot about Naminé, so why was this stupid little situation bothering him so much? Why was he so angry about her going out with Demyx; a person he knew full well wouldn't betray him?

It was all because he was jealous. Of Demyx, the guy who was like a brother to him. He didn't want to be, but he also didn't want to see her with anyone else. The thought of those two being together sickened him and it made him act out in the worst of ways.

While he was distracted, she flipped him off of her and quickly unlocked the door. Naminé was shivering and crying when she walked in, making Roxas feel like shit.

"I'll bring you a towel and some clothes," Olette whispered. She couldn't stop herself from glaring at Roxas before she pulled Naminé into the downstairs bathroom.

 _What the hell is wrong with me?_ he asked himself.

 **XXX**

 **Edited: 10.17.15**

 **(1) Go ghost: Danny Phantom reference. Loved that show.**

 **So! Roxas is stupid and Naminé is hurt. Will he fix his mistake? Well duh. But that's next chapter.**


	12. Fun Dinner

**12**

Sunlight peaked through the blinds and hit Roxas' face. The star stirred slightly, not wanting to get up yet. His body begged him to go back to sleep, but his mind was already wide awake by then.

Once he was aware that he was conscious, he started thinking. And then his conscience hit him like a blow to the gut. The sight of Naminé crying the night before...it killed him. She cried because he fucked up.

 _Naminé. I have to see if she's alright._

Like the rebel it was, his body eased out of the bed, careful not to wake Olette, and padded down the hall to Naminé's room. The door wasn't locked, so he let himself in. She was laying on top of her covers with her back to the door. "Naminé?"

She stayed quiet. Not a single muscle moved to indicate that she'd heard him. It was a good thing he knew her better than that.

"Come on, talk to me. I know you aren't asleep because you told me you can't sleep on top of your comforter like that."

The blonde maid curled up into a ball. "What are you going to do if I don't? Lock me outside in the rain again?"

Roxas walked over to the bed and laid down behind her in a spooning position. When she didn't attempt to move away from him, he took that as his cue to speak. "I'm sorry, okay? I was being childish yesterday and I apologize for leaving you outside. I'm not mad anymore and I don't want you to be mad at me."

"I don't care," she spat. "Get out."

"Naminé, please. Is that the only reason you're upset with me? If not, tell me. What did I do wrong?"

"What did you do _wrong?_ " her voice cracked, though her anger was evident. "You used me and that hurt. You have a girlfriend, so stop acting like you don't when she's not around. I'm not your bitch, I'm not your sex slave, I'm not your friend with benefits; I'm your maid and you're my boss. That's _all_ we are. So please stop doing this to me. I'm not wearing that stupid collar again, so you can forget it."

He sighed and wrapped an arm around her waist. "I don't think you're any of those things. That thing in the cave with me and Olette was nothing-"

"You don't need to explain yourself to me. I don't care."

"Just _listen_ to me. I needed sex, but I couldn't do that with you while she was home. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings or make you feel like I used you. I really like you and I told you that."

"I'm not your girlfriend, so whatever. It's not like I give a damn."

He nuzzled his face into her hair and exhaled. "I don't want to let go of what we have. You know that. Olette and I..." His eyes opened slowly as he realized just how stupid he was. Now was the perfect time to tell her. "Publicity stunt."

Naminé raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"I should've told you sooner. The relationship Olette and I have is nothing more than a publicity stunt. I signed a contract saying that I would stay with her to get noticed. I can't break up with her unless her manager agrees to it. Now do you see? If I could leave, I would have a long time ago. We were good friends before, but we're a horrible couple now."

 _Publicity stunt, huh?_ "So why are you keeping "us" a secret from Olette?"

"Because she actually has some kind of feelings for me, but I swear I don't have any for her. I only slept with her. I never told her I loved her, I don't kiss her unless it's about to lead to sex, I don't do any of that. I keep her happy when I want her off my nerves. _You're_ the one that I actually have feelings for."

It was a bit shocking to hear, but it satisfied her. All her reservations about being with him slowly faded. His relationship with Olette wasn't even real. Why _didn't_ he tell her before?

"Anything else you want to know?" he asked.

She shook her head and rolled over to face him. "Not right now. But that doesn't mean you can have sex with me any time you want. Keep your feelings under control and your encounters with me to a minimum. I want you to find a way out of the contract. Okay?"

Roxas smiled and cupped her face with his hand. "I'll try to be professional with you during work hours and a friend during your off hours. But at night when Olette's not here, you're mine. How's that?"

Naminé closed her eyes and laughed. "After you earn my trust back, maybe. And before you get all pissy again, Demyx is just my friend. He was talking up for you the entire time we were-"

Her lips met those of her boss. She melted in his hold, wrapping her arms around his neck. It was a kiss that practically screamed I'm sorry over and over. She definitely forgave him. Plus, the two of them knew this would probably be the last one they'd share for a while.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. Please take the collar back. I'm sorry," Roxas whispered.

"Again, maybe when you earn my trust. You just keep your hands to yourself while Olette's around."

Roxas smiled. "I will. No kisses, no inappropriate touches, and no innuendos or pickup lines."

XXX

 **One month later**

"Excuse me Sexy, is this seat taken?" Roxas grinned as he grabbed Naminé's butt.

She slapped his hand away and whipped around to face him with a glare. What happened to him keeping his hands to himself? "Go get dressed, stupid."

He pouted and walked off to his room, mumbling about how "unfun" she was.

Olette came out as he went in, holding up two dresses. "Nami, hon, which one of these dresses should I wear tonight?" The first was a strapless knee length green dress that matched her eyes. It looked like it was polyester, but she couldn't be sure without touching it. It appeared to have a small amount of glitter sprinkled across the top.

The second dress was a formfitting tan dress that stopped a little below her knees. It was simple, but in a nice way. It didn't have any sleeves, but it was a turtleneck dress. "Try the tan one."

"Kay. Be right back!" She disappeared into one bathroom as Roxas came out of another. He was struggling with his tie, like he always did.

"Help me," he whined pitifully.

Naminé laughed and untangled the mess he created. First of all, the tie was backwards. How did he even expect to put it on like that? "So what's the plan for tonight?" she asked him.

"It's a business dinner. And by business dinner, I mean my manager, my parents, and I eat small portions of high priced food while Olette, _her_ parents, and _her_ manager bash me and my band for an hour or two, then make me foot the bill," he frowned.

Naminé frowned back, but it had a hint of playfulness to it. "Poor Jo. I would say have fun but it doesn't seem like you will."

"I probably won't. You could give me a good luck kiss and we'll see how that works out for me," he grinned. Despite her frown, he squeezed her cheeks together and pecked her lips. They tasted like the ice cream she ate an hour before. He hummed and let go of her face, but continued to kiss her again and again. "Fuck, I _love_ chocolate chip Naminé," he groaned.

She pushed him away and turned her back to him. "Stop it. And that's why you can't tie this. It's ripped."

"Aw, what!? Damn it!" He stomped to his room to get another one at the same time Olette came from the bathroom. She looked perfect in the dress with her loose updo. That was definitely the one.

Naminé gasped and squealed behind her hands. "You look amazing! Wear that dress for sure. With clear heels."

"Clear!? Ugh, now I have to go find those old things!" She ran off to her room as Roxas came back. He balanced two ties in each palm. One tie was lime green, one was baby blue, one was red, and the other was purple.

"None of those are gonna go well with her dress. And you're wearing white..." Naminé smiled apologetically. The two of them were stressing so much over this one dinner. Was it really that bad?

"I don't have many ties! I found these by accident!"

"Here." Naminé took the ties from him and took the uncomfortable looking suit jacket off of him. It looked a size too big for him anyway. Beneath the jacket, he was wearing a white dress shirt and a thin black undershirt underneath. "Ew, switch that. White undershirt, black dress shirt. Go. And hurry up before you're late!"

He muttered a _yes mother_ under his breath and went back to his room. He and Olette bumped into each other, but quickly rebounded and went their separate ways. Olette found the heels and was now ready. "Roxas, come on!"

"Don't rush me, woman! I move slower when you rush me!"

The two started to argue. Naminé was used to it, but she wasn't going to put up with it tonight. " _Children!_ Cut it out and act like the adults you're supposed to be!"

Surprisingly, they obeyed and snapped their mouths shut.

Roxas had switched his colors around and was now wearing a white undershirt, a black pinstripe dress shirt and white slacks. Sadly, Naminé thought the two looked...perfect for each other. Though they argued, they were smiling and laughing with each other like a normal couple should.

 _We were good friends before, but we're a horrible couple now._

Naminé didn't believe that. She believed that Olette liked him more than she cared to let on. If she could find a way to get Olette to open herself up to him, she was sure they could actually be something. And if that meant she and Roxas would never be, then she was okay with that. Or at least she could get over it.

"You two have fun tonight, okay?" Naminé smiled.

"We will! Don't you get lost in here all by yourself," Olette waved as she pulled Roxas out of the door.

That was another thing. Naminé never really understood why Roxas called her a demon other than the fact that she cuts people's faces. Olette was such a nice and sweet person. She had her moments, yeah, but that didn't make her horrible, did it?

XXX

Olette tapped her fingers against the door of the limo and sighed through her nose. She was irritated and it was all Roxas' fault. "Don't ever do that again," she spat.

The blond looked up from his phone and squinted in confusion. "Do what?"

"Let her dress you. Every time she dresses you, you walk out of the house looking better than me. You know I hate being-"

"Oh, shut the hell up with that shit. If she dresses me nice, then she dresses me nice. You let her dress _you_ ," he sneered.

"Because she knows what looks best on me. I just don't want you showing me up. You know damn well the paparazzi will be there, Roxas!"

"Shut. The fuck. _Up!_ I don't give a damn about the paparazzi! I just don't wanna go out of the house looking like a hot mess! You look fine, so what's the fucking problem!?"

"You're the fucking problem! You haven't paid any attention to me in the past month! It's like your career is more important than me!"

Talk about random. Sometimes, he believed she just needed a reason to complain.

"What would you suggest I do, then? Just stop singing and let you have the lime light all to yourself?"

"If that's what has to happen, yes. I'd like you to quit singing."

That idiot. If he were to stop singing, that would defeat the purpose of the publicity stunt. He'd _never_ stop being Jo and he'd never quit Dead Alive either. Was she out of her mind?

Roxas returned to his phone with an exasperated sigh. "You really need to piss off. I'm not about to deal with you and your bitch tantrums tonight."

"Who the hell are you-!?"

"I am _**not**_ about to deal with your bitch tantrums tonight! Shut it up and shut it up now! I don't wanna hear another goddamn word from you, _got it!?_ "

Olette huffed, but stayed quiet like she was supposed to.

XXX

The dinner, as Roxas predicted, was bland, tasteless, and boring. And that was just the atmosphere. His parents assured him they would be there, but called and told him they had a last minute rescheduling. He was glad for Zexion's presence because Olette and her mother, weren't letting up with the insults they smoothly inserted into the conversation. Her manager wasn't lifting a finger to help his case.

And you know what he did? He sat there and took it. What the hell else was he to do?

He forced a smile as they laughed at yet another crude joke that was made about him. Zexion, the sly, no-shit-giving, lovable bastard, sighed loudly to catch their attention. "You people bore me. I want to leave as soon as the fuck possible," he droned in his "white girl" voice.

"Feel free to leave at any time," her mother smirked.

"Oh I will. And I'm taking my client with me. Come on, Jo-!"

"Sit down," her father's baritone voice boomed threateningly and shook their spines. Something about him was off. He seemed unhappy. Zexion, again, sighed loudly and sank way down in his seat. He muttered a swear, followed by, "This blows so hard." Roxas agreed, but not out loud.

"So, Roxas, I hear you're trying out a new style of music for Dead Alive. I hear the Ripes are excited," her mother commented.

 _If this bitch mispronounces it one more time..._

"Wraiths, ma'am," he forced as politely as he could. "Die hard fans of Dead Alive are called _Wraiths_. And yes, I am working on a new style of music. It's darker and heavier than before, so it isn't anything you would listen to."

"Certainly. Sing me a verse from your upcoming solo album. I'd love to see what multi-platinum Jo is up to."

Roxas refrained from glaring. "I haven't gone platinum yet."

" _Shocker_ ," she drawled. "Just sing."

He glanced at Olette, then at Zexion. Neither was stopping him from doing so. "Alright. This is from a song I just recently finished." With a deep breath, he looked down at his hands. They always found a way to snatch away his confidence, no matter what he was doing.

 _No use taking off your clothes_

 _We won't be going there tonight_

 _You were kind enough to say hello_

 _I figured I could at least say good-_

 _By the way...I was thinking about telling you that I was in love with her_

 _Yeah, I'm still in love...with...her..._

 _Oh, ooh_

 _Look at this web I wove_

They hadn't interrupted him, so he must have been doing a good job. He wouldn't say they were impressed, but at least they weren't disgusted.

 _So take this photograph, and I'll take this empty frame_

 _I won't be coming back, but you're not the one to blame_

 _The chemistry between...liars like you and me_

 _Ignites like gasoline_

When he looked up at Olette's mother, her face was blank and expressionless. If she was going to say something, why couldn't she just say it already? That was some of his best work.

Her mother tore her gaze away from him and continued eating. "I can't say that I like it. In fact, I hate it. The song is too depressing. Usually, all you write is love songs. The one time I'm counting on you to just that, you disappoint me. The song basically had no introduction. I only know that "he" came home to his, what, girlfriend? Wife? Lover? You didn't specify. He came home to whoever she is, took an empty picture frame and left. There's no story line, no plot, no substance, no nothing. It's boring. And I'm sure the rest of the song will be the same. This isn't what I expected from you at all. Love songs, like yours, don't particularly make sense because they're not supposed to. I've accepted that. But a song such as this needs to make sense. It simply lacks depth and your listeners won't understand it. I hate it."

Zexion's jaw dropped as she took a bite of her salad nonchalantly. No doubt this is where Olette got her bitchy, overbearing attitude from. That was pretty harsh, even for her. She's never been this critical about one of his songs. He looked to Olette's manager and instantly knew he was thinking the same.

Roxas stared down at his plate, numb. This was the first time she's told him directly that she hated one of his songs. It hurt and he didn't quite understand why it hurt as bad as it did. It should only matter if the fans like it. But this woman...Amelia DiCcirco...

She had absolutely no tact at all. No soul to empathize with. No filter to say things in a nice way. She simply hated it. He failed. He failed her, himself, and everyone else.

"Amelia, that was a little cruel. Don't you think that was overkill?" Olette's father mumbled.

"It was the truth. Someone needs to give him a little constructive criticism. I personally think you should stick to love songs. I like when they're about me," Olette smiled at her father.

Roxas laughed dryly, his hands clenching into tight fists on his thighs. "I don't remember asking you for your fucking opinion."

Her eyes went wide in anger as she looked up at him. "Excuse me?"

"I don't remember asking you for anything. You always have something to say, something to prod at and critique like you have some kind of right. You just love to stick your little surgically repaired nose into everybody's business when the truth is _you_ don't matter. No one honestly gives a fuck about you or your opinion. You're a cold, narcissistic sadist who doesn't quite realize that she's irrelevant in the eyes of the world. Your daughter is famous, _not you_. So grab a tight hold of your "constructive criticism" and take it with you when you go to rot in the deepest pit of Hell, you pitiful ugly bitch..."

Zexion covered his smirk with his fist and cleared his throat to stop the impending laughter. He waited a while before saying, "Shots. Fired. I um...I take it everyone's having fun, yes?"

To make matters worse, Olette's father started to laugh. Even as his wife glared at him, he was unable to control it. "Wow! That was one of the best speeches I've ever heard in my life! I'm impressed. Amelia, this man is _wonderful_."

Amelia shifted her glare back to Roxas, who glared back. His ears were red in anger and his jaw was locked, daring her to say another word. She never did.

His body switched to autopilot as he stood from the table and made his way to the door. "Let's go, Zexion," he growled. Olette would be spending the night with her parents, so there was no need to wait up for her.

XXX

The front door squeaked its welcome as Roxas pushed it open. The house was dark, save for the light that was on in Naminé's room. He left his shoes by the door and slowly made his way up.

Through the crack in the door, he could see that Naminé was reading. Her hair was down over her shoulders, a delicious and rare sight to behold, and she had on a pale blue tank top. Her legs were under the thick black comforter, so he couldn't see what kind of pants she was wearing. If she was even wearing any, that is.

She could be...you know...wearing shorts or something.

He didn't mean to just stare at her, but her night time beauty captivated him...paralyzed him. If he was caught, he would be forever branded a peeping tom. So he knocked lightly on the door as he pushed it open. "Can I come in?"

She looked up at him and smiled. It brought him back to life and duplicated itself onto his own face. "Sure. How was the dinner?"

He closed the door and locked it. "It was okay," he lied. "Olette won't be here tonight. Is it alright if I sleep in here with you?"

"You know I don't mind as long as you keep your hands to yourself. For real this time."

With a nod, he slowly unbuttoned his dress shirt and dropped it on the floor. Next to go was the undershirt. Then finally, he let his pants slide to the floor. Naminé wasn't the least bit shocked about him being in his boxers. She managed to convince herself that it was just like seeing guys in their swim trunks on the beach.

Naminé closed her book and turned the lamp off as he slid into bed beside her. They faced each other without saying a word. Roxas, still feeling the pain from the dinner, moved closer to her and hugged her to his chest. "It's just good to hold you. You make me feel like something when I'm close to wasting away."

Naminé knew something was up. He wasn't being his usual cocky self. "Roxas, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. I don't want to bother-"

"JoJo, tell me what's wrong. I want to help you however I can. I'll just listen if that's what you want."

Roxas tightened his grip on her. "I...I sang a new song for Olette's mother...and she told me she hated it. I try so hard to get her to like my music, but she never does. She hates it. Hearing her say that made me feel like I'm wasting my time. Like I'm not good enough."

"Roxas, no. You are _more_ than good enough. Thousands of people like your music, and that includes me. Screw her. The only opinion that matters is yours. What do _you_ think of it?"

He shook his head. "I don't know anymore."

"Well, sing it for me. I promise, I'll give you my honest opinion."

Here it goes. He didn't want to set himself up for failure again, but he trusted Naminé. So he sang it for her. She helped him rebuild his confidence when Amelia broke it down.

Naminé smiled to herself as he finished. "That was beautiful, Roxas. The lyrics are sad, but I get the meaning. It makes me really think about what you're saying and I love it."

"You really do?"

"Yes. I love it. What's it called?"

Roxas gently kissed her forehead and rubbed her lower back as a thank you. "Photographs and Gasoline."

It really was nice. If Olette's mom hated it, she was either stupid or crazy. Or maybe both. She could tell he worked hard on it. "Did Olette defend you at all?" she asked.

Roxas shook his head, which angered Naminé. She immediately dismissed everything she thought about Olette being perfect for him. If she couldn't stand up for the person she supposedly had feelings for, then she didn't deserve him.

"Try to get some rest. It'll be a brand new day when you wake up. Goodnight, Roxas."

The taller blond sighed somewhat happily. Naminé was definitely his go-to gal for when he felt like shit. She was an amazing friend and an even better lover. And maybe...she was everything in between as well.

"Goodnight, Starr."

 **XXX**

 **Edited: 10.24.15**

 **Photographs and Gasoline is by Framing Hanley. That song gives me feels out of this world!**

 **It's been a while since I've woken up before two in the afternoon. I'm so proud of me! So I decided to give you guys updates. I hope this makes up for last chapter.**


	13. Perfume

**13**

Roxas woke up on his own for the first time in a long time. The sun was hidden behind the clouds, their phones were on silent, and Naminé had the day off.

Wait a minute...Naminé was off and he had to be to work. He could show her the perfume he had finished.

He sat up and gasped as realization hit him. "I did finish it, didn't I...? I finished it!"

"Finished what?" Naminé mumbled.

"Sweetie, get dressed. I wanna show you the new perfume line I have."

"Perfume...? Don't you mean cologne?"

He shook his head while shaking her with both of his hands. "No, I made a perfume line. For women! It smells really good and I want you to see it! Get up, get up!"

Naminé slapped his hands and sat up with a huff. He could be so annoying at times. "Alright! What are you, six!?"

Roxas laughed and happily bounded off to his room to get clothes. Naminé laughed to herself and stood up to get dressed. She already knew what outfit she was going to wear today. A dark purple v-neck, since her pink one went missing about a month ago, light blue jean Capris, and those oh so comfortable black and white Converse she found after all those years.

Thankfully, Roxas came back into the room just as she was pulling up her zipper. He fell because his pants were still around his knees, but quickly pulled himself up. "I'm okay!" he cheesed.

"Jeez, knock," she spat playfully.

He knocked twice on the wall before pulling his purple jeans all the way up. "Hey, that's so cool! We're both wearing purple!"

Naminé slid into her purple shirt and placed her hands on a bouncing Roxas' shoulders. "I'm gonna need you to dial it down a bit. You're a bit too hyper this morning."

"But I don't want to take it down! I'm excited because I really value your opinion. And also because I wuv you, Nami-kins. SO I GOTTA-!"

"Quiet."

"I wanna-!"

" _Quiet!_ "

"Let me-!"

She slapped his forehead in quick succession. He recoiled and attempted to block his face from the mini attack. "Down, boy! No! _No!_ "

He pouted, but still wrapped his arms around her. "Even though you're beatin' me up, I still wuv you. You give me kisses now?"

"No. Put your damn shirt on so we can go," Naminé laughed.

His fingers tilted her chin up and he smiled down at her. Though there was still a hint of playfulness in his smirk, she could tell he was being serious. That loving twinkle always appeared in his eyes when he was. "We're not going anywhere until you give me some proper lovin'. And that's final."

Naminé bit her lip and smiled. "Ooh, you grew a backbone?"

"Damn right." He leaned in to kiss her, but she slapped her hand over his mouth. With a shrug, he kissed the inside of her hand. It didn't matter to him because he liked to kiss her everywhere, even when she refused.

Wait...nevermind that.

The point is that he was okay with it. Naminé wasn't the type of girl who enjoyed a constant onslaught of affection and adoration twenty-four seven. That's something he learned to accept. But how could he control himself around a woman who was so...Naminé?

Naminé giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck. "It has been a while since we've kissed, hasn't it? I guess I'll-"

Her words were lost as Roxas pressed his lips to hers. She would say she saw it coming, but she honestly didn't. He moved so fast that she only saw a blur of tan skin and blonde hair. That was Jo, ladies and gents. The man well known for his powerful lyrics, his spontaneity, and his mass collection of Jordans.

"I changed my mind," he whispered as he pulled away. Their lips were still touching, which sent tons of lovely shivers down her spine. "You need to get undressed. Right now."

"And you, Sir, need to brush your teeth. Your breath smells like Monday mornings and Vodka."

"Well your breath isn't exactly greeting me with Colgate and good morning sprinkles. But whatever. I'll brush my teeth...then we'll try this again."

"Or maybe not," she smiled.

"Or maybe _maybe_."

After they finished brushing their teeth, Roxas finally put on a long sleeved white thermal. So his outfit consisted of the thermal, the purple pants, and black and white Jordan's. Naminé had no idea how he made that work, but it worked.

Naminé brushed the kinks out of her hair from sleep and put her hair back in its famous bun, unaware that Roxas was watching her every move. The smile had softened, but it still lingered on her lips. He examined everything; from her cute little cheekbones to the inward curve in her waist (seemingly made only for his hands) to her incredibly sexy legs. Legs can be sexy, right? Hers were to him.

His eyes took their time as they ventured back up to her face. It took him a while to realize she was staring, no, glaring back at him. Her lips were curled downward in the most adorable frown ever. "Is there anything in particular you're looking for?"

Translation: Did you just check me out? I'll kill you.

Roxas quickly averted his eyes and rubbed the back of his neck with a nervous chuckle. "Um, no! I was...looking at your outfit. You look nice."

Typical Roxas. But she was actually starting to like typical Roxas, along with goofy Roxas, serious Roxas, and sex-crazed Roxas. Not so much when he was angry. "Yeah, whatever. Are you ready now?" she smiled.

"Almost. Gotta put on my cologne." He motioned for her to follow him to his room. She stood at the door as he pulled out a large drawer and picked up a black glass bottle and sprayed it on himself.

But no, Roxas didn't spray it on himself like a regular person would. He started spraying, twisting his body, throwing his arms, and kicking his knees up in some kind of dangerous and retarded dance seizure. For a split second, he actually did look like he was dancing.

Naminé let a cackle slip past her lips. Once she realized it was out, she slapped her hands over her mouth as tears of laughter twinkled in her eyes.

Roxas stopped and looked at her with the biggest smile she'd ever seen. He thought her cackle was amusing. "What?" he laughed.

She quickly pulled it together and took her hands down. "What the hell was that!? You looked like you were dying!"

Answering her would have been useless. She burst into body shaking laughter the very next second. Her cackle was contagious and Roxas loved it. Olette's was fake and annoying, but hers was authentic and cute.

"That's how I always put on cologne..." he answered when she calmed down. It triggered another round of laughter from her. She didn't even resist when he wrapped his arms around her.

"You're the best, you know," he whispered into her hair.

Naminé rolled her eyes as he kissed her cheek over and over. Him and all the kissing and touching was nerve racking, but it also gave her butterflies. "Get off of me," she spat halfheartedly.

"Wait." He kissed her on the forehead and smiled. "There. Get used to all this sexiness lovin' on you."

XXX

The best thing to do, in Roxas' opinion, was make her watch the commercial first, then smell the perfume for herself.

"You've already made a commercial?"

"Mm-hm." Roxas pulled the laptop closer and sat her down into his lap. He was a little surprised when she didn't make a comment about him being a pervert. She sat quietly and pressed play.

The video started off with soft instrumental and extreme close-ups of a couple in bed. It wasn't anything lewd, but it was enough to get the idea across. It went to freeze frame for a split second before rewinding through what looked like a date between the couple.

It slowed and stopped with the girl alone in front of a mirror. Her hand hovered over a short, clear bottle of Obsession perfume, then withdrew. "I always use Obsession," she sighed. She picked up a bottle labeled Starr and sprayed it on her neck.

The instrumental came back. The perfume bottle sat on a black table in front of a window with thin black curtains. "Starr: Smell good, love better."

Naminé smiled. "Starr? Now where have I heard that before?"

Roxas flashed a goofy smile and shrugged innocently. "I dunno. But hey, I got the fifth prototype. The real ones are being packaged, but this is the one that set the guidelines." He gently took her hand and sprayed it on her wrist. "Smell," he smiled.

She lifted her wrist to her nose. "I don't exactly know what this smells like. It's like...Phantasm and my washing powder."

"That's _exactly_ what it is. This is what you, your clothes, and your bedsheets smell like. I found out that your scent not only has a weird effect on me, but on a lot of other guys. Has no one ever told you that you smell really, _really_ good?"

Her mind wandered back a long ways, then came back to the present. "Actually, yeah. A lot of guys tell me that, but I usually just ignore it."

"Well, we're not lying. It's amazing. That should kind of explain the whole man cave incident."

"Which one?"

"Both. That's why I'm always so close to you." He wrapped his arms around her stomach and let her sit on the chair between his legs. Naminé's heart raced as he nuzzled his face into her neck.

He was always a hands-on kind of person. No pun intended. Whenever the opportunity presented itself, he was either holding her hand, holding her face, or just holding her. He was...overly affectionate in the best way. Maybe she could get used to it.

"Can I tell you a secret that no one knows about me?" he asked.

"Um...s-sure."

"My birth name isn't actually Jones. It was Johannes. I took the "han" out because I thought it sounded stupid."

Naminé laughed. "It's not stupid. I think it's nice."

He scoffed. "Come on now. Roxas Johannes? That's the most retarded name I've ever-!"

"Look at it this way; if you're not proud of who you are, how can you expect others to be? Johannes is fine. Try growing up with White as a last name. I had kids calling me Useless Crayon."

"Kids are cruel!" Roxas laughed, but not at her. She just succeeded in making him feel a little better about his last name. Well I like white. It's the only color that shows up on black. And white is technically all the colors. So there," he smiled.

They laughed together and further enjoyed one another's company. "I just wuv you, Nami-kins."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever."

Roxas rolled his eyes playfully and placed gentle pecks on her neck, careful to avoid the collar. Every so often, he'd say it again. Once both sides and the back of her neck were filled with his kisses, he turned her around and pulled her into his lap to start on the front.

"You need to stop!" she laughed.

"No, no, no. I need to keep going until you say it back," he purred.

This went on for several more minutes. Naminé's cheeks were beet red and her entire body was hot. The last person who gave her this kind of attention was her ex-boyfriend, but that was so long ago. She never knew there would be another man that would make her feel this. The feelings she had for him were almost the same ones she had for Vanitas. Did that mean she loved him? Would Vanitas have approved of this?

Why did she feel as if she needed a dead man's approval?

Roxas' lips eventually made their way to hers. It was her scent doing this to him again. That was almost always the cause of his actions. "So you're not gonna say it?" he asked.

She shook her head violently and covered her mouth. Those three words were important to her. The only way they'd come out of her mouth was when she was one hundred percent sure that she meant them. She had to truly love Roxas to say it.

"Alright. That was your warning." He stood, swiped everything off the table, and sat her on top of it. When she clasped her hands tighter over her mouth, he pinned her down and forced them above her head. "You have three seconds."

"Who're you supposed to be? My dad?"

He smirked and pressed his forehead to hers. "Oh, yes. I am most _definitely_ your daddy. Now be a good girl and give Daddy what he wants."

Naminé gasped as he lowered his face to her stomach and dipped his tongue into her bellybutton. "No! Get out of there!"

"Say it and I'll stop."

"Keep dreaming, fuckboy..."

Roxas glared playfully. "I'm a fuckboy?" He let her wrists go and snuck his hands under her shirt. "A fuckboy wouldn't know what to do with a body this fine. But _I_ do."

"Seriously!" she cried out. "Not here!"

"You have two options. Either say it now or beg me for this later. If you choose neither, we're just gonna do this here," he grinned.

"No we're _not!_ " Naminé hissed.

"Oh, but we are. I want you. _Now_ , Starr. We're gonna fuck on this table because I said so."

"...Do we need to leave?"

Roxas' head snapped up at the new voice in the room. Oh boy. Not only was his manager in the doorway with a horrified expression, but every single member of Dead Alive. And his mother.

"Hi mommy!" he smiled sweetly. That'd usually get him out of trouble, but he knew he was screwed this time.

XXX

"I swear, it was nothing! We-!"

"Was it really? Because I distinctly remember you referring to yourself as her _Daddy_..." his mother scowled.

Roxas sank down in his seat and crossed his arms. He had no explanation for that.

His mother fussed at him while Naminé sat between her twin's legs on the couch. He had a comforting arm wrapped around her and rested his chin on top of her head. Her attention, however, was on Roxas and his mother.

It's not like he was going to hurt and/or rape her. He'd never do that to her. They were just friends...a little more than friends, actually. The point is he shouldn't get in trouble for something that wasn't his fault.

Well, the cracked screen on the laptop from when he slapped it on the ground was his fault. But that was it!

"Mrs. Jones?" Naminé called.

Her scowl melted into a warm smile as she looked over to her. "Yes, sweetie?"

"Roxas really didn't mean any harm. He was just playing around. We're friends."

"He was _so_ gonna rape you," Demyx giggled softy behind her head, threatening to make her smile.

She tilted her head, as if trying to comprehend the meaning of friends. After a moment of silence, she straightened her head and looked back to her son. "You two are just friends?"

"We're best friends. I tried to say that, but yo ass didn't wanna let me fucking talk," he growled.

The blonde woman smacked him in the face, which hurt his pride more than anything. "Don't fucking talk back to me! Have you lost your mind!? First, you try to steal this girl's innocence, then you cuss at me like I'm one of your little groupie sluts!? You _will not_ talk to me like that!"

He opened his mouth to apologize, but then shook his head in disbelief. "Innocence? Innocence!? Oh-ho no! This one is _far_ from innocent!" he pointed at Naminé.

"Hey! Don't talk about my twin that way! I'm pretty sure she was innocent before you forced her to be your maid!" Demyx yelled.

"Huh?"

"Excuse me?"

"What?"

"Forced?"

"Twin...?"

That's right. Only Demyx and Zexion knew about the "Maid Clause." The rest of Dead Alive had no idea that he forced her to be his maid or that they were having sex. So...Demyx really put his foot in his mouth this time.

"Oopsies..."

Roxas turned slowly in his chair as if he'd been hit in the gut. "Ouch, Demyx. You hit me in the Bro Code."

"I sowwy, bro," he grimaced.

Tifa sat up with a smirk. "So wait, have there been any boss/maid interactions like what we saw earlier?"

"Yeah, Roxy. Were you able to keep it in your pants this time? Or did you cheat on Olette again?" Axel asked.

"Really!? Again, Roxas!?" his mother shrieked.

 _Traitors. You're all fucking traitors_ , Roxas hissed in his mind.

He stood up and stretched with a nervous laugh. "Welp, 'bout time I hit that old dusty trail, eh?" That was the last thing they saw before he ran out of the door. Too bad his mother was right behind him.

"You guys are terrible," Naminé laughed.

The guys and Tifa shrugged. Demyx just hugged Naminé closer to his chest. "I don't care. My twin is here."

Zexion raised an eyebrow, which earned him a glare. Something was up with Demyx, something Zexion knew he would never tell Roxas.

XXX

Naminé, with Demyx's help, explained to Roxas' mother what the guys meant. A lot of it wasn't the truth, but the objective was to keep his mother happy. Apparently Axel was joking, Tifa was clueless, and Demyx just wanted to embarrass Roxas a little.

When his mother left, Naminé and Roxas went to the park just for the sake of getting out of the building.

"You know, I owe you my life right now. That was really embarrassing," Roxas said as he let the swing he was in rock back and forth. Beside him, Naminé sat sideways in her swing so she could face Roxas. Her bun was coming undone and a couple strands were falling into her face.

He looked so down. There was more to it than just being embarrassed by what happened and she wanted to help. "What's wrong?"

He leaned his head against the swing chain. "Nothing really. My father just didn't show up today. I mean, it was nice to see my mom, but I haven't seen my dad in forever. He's always busy."

Naminé nodded. "Same for me, except I don't see my mom much."

"Doesn't it feel weird?" he asked.

"Like our parents raised us, then just dropped us off into the real world to fend for ourselves. I'm just as guilty as they are when it comes to not seeing her," she shrugged.

Both of them felt pain. They loved their parents, but they also blamed them for not being there when they needed advice or when were in trouble. Parents knew it all, but who said they had to stop teaching when that child reached a certain age?

Roxas stood and stuffed his hands into his pocket. "You wanna know something?"

"What is it?" Naminé asked as she straightened in her swing.

A small smile appeared. "I don't feel alone." He started to walk towards his car. Naminé stumbled as she stood and followed behind him. She didn't know what made her do it, but she grabbed his hand and intertwined their fingers.

"I don't feel alone," he repeated. "Moments like these," he lifted their joined hands and kissed the back of hers, "Make me realize that even if I don't have many people in my life that I can honestly trust, I'm not alone. You've given me more of your time than you probably should have and...I just wanna say thank you. Thank you for putting up with me and all my faults. I don't ever want to let you go."

She knew exactly what he meant. He planned on keeping this mini relationship no matter what.

"Keep in mind that it's all up to you. If you truly don't want to be with me at any time, say so. I won't force you to stay."

Naminé tugged on his hand and stopped him from walking. There was fear in his eyes. He was expecting her to just outright say that she didn't want him and demand that he take her home. His hand was shaking as he tried not to squeeze hers too hard.

It was mind boggling to her. He didn't want to show it but he was really scared...over her. She really mattered to him. "You're terrified," she chuckled softly.

"It's not funny," he mumbled with a bit of pink on his cheeks.

"It's not. I'm just kind of...amazed. Roxas, you're _trembling_. I..." She looked down at his hand again and laughed. "How much do I mean to you?"

With a soft smile, he shrugged. "A lot."

She was even more amazed at his answer. How could she mean so much to him? She wasn't even important. At least she didn't think she was.

"And you think I'm stupid enough to throw away a man I care so much about? One who cares about me just as much? I want to stay with you, Roxas."

His eyes closed as he threw his head back in relief. Naminé had to stop herself from laughing again. "Damn...I was sure my heart was gonna fly out of my chest," he chuckled.

Naminé smiled and hugged him. Celebrities were people too, but no one ever really thought about their thoughts and feelings. Seeing Roxas, the extremely confident singer/songwriter, so vulnerable felt nice. She knew what she was seeing and hearing from him was authentic.

"Ooh, before I forget." Roxas pulled an envelope out of his jacket pocket and handed it to her. "Your paycheck, madam. Don't open it now."

Naminé nodded. Seconds later, she ripped the top off.

"Wha-!? I said don't open it!"

"I didn't. I ripped it. Let's see how much I made- So many zeros..." she gasped.

Roxas laced his fingers together and smiled. "Yeah, like Axel's grades back in high school!"

The shorter blonde stifled a snicker. "That's wrong."

"That's _right_. Now let's go home," he smirked. An overwhelming sense of déjà vu came over Naminé as he threw his arm around her and led her to his dark purple Denali with a new bounce in his step.

 **XXX**

 **Edited: 10.24.15**


	14. Destiny Islands Bound

**I spy a lemon ahead. It may be random, but it** _ **is**_ **Roxas. :D**

 **XXX**

 **14**

The one that was constantly on his mind, versus the one sitting across from him as he stared down at his Vodka tea. To be more specific, Naminé versus Olette. No, he wasn't pitting them against each other in a fight in his head, though it would satisfy him greatly to see Naminé beat the shit out of Olette. This was a battle of who he should give his love and affection to.

Wait just a second. Before you answer with a hearty _NAMINÉ, DUH!_ , let's take a moment to think about this. Naminé was the one who wouldn't mind giving it back if she could. She'd be with him through thick and thin and really didn't care if he was famous or not. He could see the life in her eyes grow every time they were a little too close or whenever he kissed her.

Still rooting Naminé, huh?

Now let's look at Olette. She was the one who could completely ruin him if he did something she didn't like. He'd never sing again, never act again, or never have any type of career again. All his money, cars, and clothes would be gone. This mansion? Gone. The fans? Gone. Any possible opportunity for work? _Gone_. She could blacklist him faster than he'd be able to apologize. And worst of all, she could do the exact same thing to Naminé. Her life would be completely ruined and that's the last thing he wanted.

So I'll ask again, who should he give his love and affection to? Olette's starting to get a bit suspicious, mind you.

What was he to do? How long was he supposed to live like this? The contract, unfortunately, was iron-clad. The only exit clause was if she slept with another man. And he was certain she would never because she "loved" him.

Stupid contract.

The last of the tea slid past his tongue and burned the whole way down. He hadn't even touched her yet and he was disgusted with himself.

When he finally looked up at her, her emerald eyes were cold. She had asked him a question that he didn't want to answer. "What was it?"

"Her bra. Why is it that I found her bra in our bathroom last week, Roxas?"

He tried to smile at her, but it didn't lift the scowl on her face. "She must have accidentally left it there after she got out of the shower. The pipes in her bathroom wouldn't get hot for some reason. I called a plumber to check the problem and he said it was because her pipes were frozen solid."

Ever so slowly, her expression softened. "Oh..."

The first part of that was true. The pipes froze overnight due to the temperature outside. They always froze on the right, but never the left side of the house. Olette didn't have to know that he'd successfully convinced Naminé to take a shower with him, then let his hands venture to places they didn't quite belong. They didn't have sex, but he really wished they did.

"Yeah," he chuckled. "You honestly thought I would cheat after I told you I wouldn't? Come on, now..."

Olette dropped her head in her hands and sighed. "I did. I thought you would because Naminé's so nice to you and sometimes I'm-"

"A bitch? Satan? Just plain horrible? Heartless? Always assuming things? Ungrateful? Unsupportive? Self-centered? Rude-?"

"I get it..." she growled.

He shrugged. "Maybe if you were more like Namine, I'd-"

"There you go _again!_ " she groaned.

Roxas blinked innocently, jerking back in surprise. "What?"

"You're talking about Naminé! Again! You are _always_ talking about her! Why!?"

Again, he shrugged. "She's my best friend. I've only ever had two female best friends and you were one of them, but you turned out like _this_. Naminé's still nice to me and doesn't care about her fucking publicity or if the paparazzi is catching her good side. She cares about me. As a friend, of course."

A heavy silence passed over the two. Roxas slumped down in his chair and mentally checked the amount of ecstasy pills he had left. Should be less than half of a bag, meaning he'd need to restock soon. Though he didn't like it, he had been taking way more than he wanted to.

Randomly, Naminé's face popped into his head. Just last week, he showed her the perfume he named after her. She looked so happy. She _was_ so happy.

And then there was Olette. Ruining shit.

"I think we need to talk about what you want to do with this relationship between you and her. You shouldn't have female best friends. Especially ones that work for you in your home. It's a bit unprofessional to-"

"God, can you leave me alone!? I'm a grown ass man, meaning I can have however many friends I want regardless of their gender! You need to grow the hell up and stop being so damn insecure! It doesn't matter what you look like on the outside because you're fucking disgusting on the inside!"

Tears shined in those emerald orbs as she stared at him. Neither one of them could believe he just blurted that out like that. He meant every word, but he didn't mean to blurt it out like he did.

"Sorry, Olette. I'm under a lot of stress and I-"

Olette shot up from her seat and ran upstairs. It would take a lot of horrifying, stomach churning make-up sex to get himself out of this one.

Then he stopped to think. Naminé treated him better than Olette ever would. Why should he force himself to sleep with a woman he didn't even love? There was no point in punishing himself for an emotion he couldn't reciprocate.

So, with a certain blonde maid on his mind, he walked over to his man cave with a skip in his step. Olette would be working again tomorrow. Maybe he could have a little fun with his best friend while she was gone.

XXX

The doorbell chimed throughout the house the next morning. Naminé wasn't far from the door, since she was cleaning the kitchen, so she opened it. To her surprise, Riku was on the other side of it. "Hey, you're back in town?" Naminé asked with a smile.

"Yup, yup. Living in Des I while my girlfriend lives in Twilight Town sucks ass. So, I'm moving in with her," he smiled sheepishly.

"That's great! But when are you gonna-?"

"Pop the question? Right after the four of us get back."

The short maid tilted her head. "Get back? Where are we going?"

Riku rocked back and forth on his feet like a child as he placed his hands in his pockets. "Well, I know how much you love Des I, and everybody misses you down there. So I bought these!" In one quick motion, he pulled out four train tickets. "We're Destiny Islands bound, baby!"

Naminé squealed and snatched one of the tickets from his hands. "No way, no _way!_ I'll get to see everyone again! Thank you!" She hugged him and squealed into his chest, almost vibrating with happiness.

"You're welcome, you're welcome. It's the least I could do for you. And here..." He handed her another ticket. "The fourth ticket is for you as well. You decide who you want to bring along."

Naminé nodded eagerly as she clutched the tickets tightly in her hand. "Thank you. This really means a lot."

"No prob, sis. Have your decision made today because we leave tomorrow. It's a two week trip."

"I will. You get back to Xion now." Before he could protest or deny that he was with her, she raised her hand to stop it. "There's a huge ass hickey on your neck and you're wearing extremely loose pants in public. I know what you were doing."

He rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled nervously. "I guess it was obvious. I'll see you Saturday."

Naminé closed the door behind him and leaned against the door with a wistful sigh. Even if it was only for two weeks, she'd be able to go back home.

"You look happy." Roxas emerged from his man cave all-nighter with a smile. He basically watched about four movies, then spent the rest of the time playing White Tiles on his phone. "I need the next two weeks off," she blurted.

"What? Why?" Roxas panicked. He didn't want to be away from her for two whole weeks.

"I'm gonna go see my friends back home. Riku gave me two train tickets to Destiny Islands, but I don't know who else to take with me."

Really? Was she _really_ going to do that to him?

Her boss shrugged as he walked towards the kitchen with his hands stuffed deep in his pockets. Like a gravitational pull, she was already following him. "That's a toughie. Make sure you take someone important."

Naminé knew where this was going, but feigned ignorance just to tick him off. "There are a lot of important people in my life. Who do I choose?"

"I dunno. Take someone you care about; someone who cares about you. Someone you trust to protect you no matter what. Someone that's fun and wild, but can also be serious and calm when the time calls for it." He clasped both of his hands around her right one and squeezed to emphasize his words. "Take your _best friend_."

She laughed. "Why didn't you just say that first? Now I know who to take! I'll ask Demyx to-"

"I wasn't talking about Demyx, fucking goddamn it!" he growled.

Naminé held back a laugh. Just like he thought her _what the shit_ was funny, she thought his _fucking goddamn_ _it_ was hysterical. Even more so when he was legitimately angry.

"Ven...?"

His jaw squared as he stared to breath heavily and rapidly through his nose. " _No_ , damn it..."

"Hm, then I don't know who. I don't want Riku to feel like he wasted his money buying this extra ticket for me," she sighed dramatically.

He glared, but it quickly melted. His frown turned into that stunning smile of his. "Hey, here's a whacky idea! Why don't I just tag along? You'll need a body guard, after all. And you won't waste Riku's money."

The shorter blonde smiled. "Roxas..."

"Yes."

"Would you...?"

"Yes."

"Like to go to Dest-?"

He wrapped his arms around her and fake sobbed into her hair. "Yes! _Yes!_ Take me with you!"

"Alright! You can come with me!" she laughed.

That was a relief. If she left him here to suffer with Olette by himself, he'd just lay down and die. They both needed a relaxing vacation.

Right as Naminé was about to speak, he leaned back and tilted her head up. "And I haven't forgotten. I've been waiting for it since you first told me." He pulled her into a gentle kiss. She fell to pieces the moment their lips touched. This man was the best kisser out of all the guy's she's ever kissed.

Truth or dare. High school. Don't ask questions.

"Forgotten what?" she panted when he pulled away.

"It's almost your birthday. Next Wednesday to be exact," he grinned. "Come here. I wanna show you something." He wrapped his arm around her waist and led her to the man cave.

"Is that something your penis?" she asked skeptically.

"You know me so well."

XXX

Roxas was such a goddamn tease, even in the most serious of moments. He was fully aware that she wanted him, but would not move a single muscle. Who stays stock still while buried to the hilt inside of a girl? It was torture.

"Can you move or something?" Naminé growled.

"In a second."

"Now! Fucking move! _Move_ , damn it!" Tears of frustration gathered at the corners of her eyes as she tried to make him move. The only movement going on was the light bob of his head as he latched onto one of her breasts and sucked.

She briefly heard him say something about patience. Patience wasn't a virtue here. If he was going to do this, he needed to hurry up already. "I hate you. I hate you _so_ damn much..." she panted.

"Hush." He slowly pulled out, just enough so that only the head was inside her, then violently forced himself back into her. He repeated this several times at an agonizingly slow pace. "There. Happy now?"

"No! You...you're moving too slow! What the fuck are you doing!?"

"It's called sex, honey."

Naminé glared at him through her pants. "If you don't pick up the pace right fucking now, we're never doing this again."

Panic spread throughout Roxas' body all the way down to his shaft. Teasing wasn't worth losing this forever. "Fine, fine. God, you're so high maintenance," he chuckled.

All of her arguments were forced to the back of her head as Roxas pulled one of her legs over his shoulder and moved his hips faster. It was pure ecstasy at its best. Whoever said sex with a condom is terrible ws a dirty liar. The two of them proved that wrong for the second time.

She turned Roxas' face away so he couldn't see hers. It made him feel a bit insecure that she didn't want to look at him or want him to look at her. Even when she faced him, she kept her eyes closed or put her arm over her eyes.

He slowed down and leaned his forehead against her shoulder. As he slowed, he accidentally brushed that spot inside her that made little flashes of light appear in the curtain of black behind her lids. It wasn't hard to find, but he was purposely leaving it untouched for now. "Why won't you look at me?" he breathed.

As Naminé tried to answer, he shifted and hit the spot head on. Her back arched off of the recliner as a breathless moan escaped her. He picked his head up and looked down at her flushed face. "It is me you're thinking about, right?"

A frown marred her brow as her lids fluttered open. "Don't be such a girl. No guy actually thinks in the middle of sex."

His motions stopped altogether. "We don't think when we're with a person we don't care about. I care about you, and I want you to look at me." His hands came up to cup her face as he started again. She looked up at him, just like he wanted her to. "Eyes on me."

She tried to do as she was told, but it just felt weird. Every so often she'd let her eyes close. And he'd make her open them again every time her eyes left him. Her walls squeezed him, making him fight to keep his own eyes open. By this time, Naminé did well in keeping her eyes open. He loved every second of it.

His body switched to autopilot as he slammed into her relentlessly. He couldn't stop if he wanted to. It wasn't long before Naminé reached her body shaking climax. Even through the condom, he could feel the heat surround his working shaft. Her walls squeezed him one last time, forcing his own climax out of him. He was good for a few more lasting thrusts before he gave up completely. The two of them were reduced to one panting, sweaty mess.

Neither of the two felt the need to cover themselves afterwards. It wasn't the first time they'd seen each other naked and it probably wouldn't be the last. Naminé refused to open her eyes again, but Roxas' wouldn't close for anything. She had such a vibrant after-sex glow. How could he deny his eyes such a luxury?

There was so much to be said, but he didn't know how to do so without using a Che-Phra. Che-Phras, short for cliche phrases, are the lines almost every single guy says if and when he wants to start a conversation after sex. Those lines being:

 _Damn it._

 _You okay?_

 _Wow._

 _I love you._

 _Holy shit._

 _That was amazing._

Worst of all, mentioning a sandwich. Not even a please would save him from the flack he'd get for using that line. He knew this because he told Olette to go make him a sandwich before and she flipped.

He could make his own. In fact...

"Hey, you want me to make you a sandwich? he smiled.

That seemed to do the trick because now she was giggling. Her eyes finally opened up. "You're an idiot."

"Hopefully, I'm your idiot."

"Something like that. Are you really gonna make me a sandwich?"

"Tch, hell yeah! Why wouldn't I? We're both probably starving by now and it'd be sexist, rude, and insensitive of me to ask you to make one for me. So, I'll make you one."

"No, no, no. Make me bacon and a grilled cheese," she joked.

He laughed and pulled at her bottom lip with his teeth. "High maintenance ass. It's a good thing I like to work for what I want. I'll definitely cook for you...after I take a nap. Put your clothes back on."

The two of them got re-dressed. It only took about three seconds for them to start missing the feeling of the other's skin on theirs. Despite having clothes on again they clung to one another in the recliner. "By the way," Roxas whispered, "You're fucking fantastic. I haven't had a girl like you in years."

And three of those years were Olette's fault.

"Thanks. You...you're different. You're original and unique with everything you do; spontaneous. I love it," Naminé sighed.

Roxas waited patiently for her to fall asleep. He smiled down at her peaceful expression and her pink tinted cheeks. "I love you," he breathed. It was the first time in five years that he'd told a woman he loved her...and he felt five pounds lighter because of it.

XXX

After they woke up, Roxas actually made Naminé a sandwich. Not a sandwich, but the best sandwich in the entire universe. It was made with...

"Sausage, bacon, melted cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, chicken patty, grape jelly, chocolate, vanilla cake frosting, honey mustard, pepperoni, and jalapeños!" he smiled.

"...I'm sorry, what?" Naminé blinked as she looked at the heart attack waiting silently and patiently on the plate. The grape jelly really threw her off, as did the chocolate and vanilla frosting. The whole sandwich was like a middle finger to her colon and digestive tract.

"It's a JoJo special! I promise you, it's amazing. I gave you breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert all in one sandwich."

More like he gave her grease, diabetes, twenty pounds, and angina. Plus, this was a huge sandwich. How was she supposed to eat all of it?

Eying the sandwich as if it would grow legs and walk away, she shook her head. "Share this with me."

"It's your sandwi-"

"There's no way in hell I'm going to finish this myself. Take half of it."

He sighed, but cut the sandwich in half anyway. They slowly took bites of their own halves while they chatted like best friends did. She knew in the back of her mind that they were way more than that. For the first time, she could honestly say she was okay with that knowledge. Olette's threat didn't even bother her anymore.

And then they started to pack for their trip. Since it was only two weeks, they packed some clothes, swimwear, and a few essentials. Naminé's essentials were bath towels, some deodorant, and perfume. Roxas' essentials were a couple of Naminé's shirts, some condoms, and a police officer's uniform. His expectations for this trip were high.

"You got everything you'll need?" he asked her.

"Sure do. You?"

"All packed. Oh, and make sure the clothes you packed are easy to get out of. I don't want to struggle too much," he winked.

Naminé pushed him aside and dragged the two suitcases to the door. "Don't get your hopes up. This is a mini vacation, not a trip to Sex Island."

"God, I wish that was real. You must have thought I was kidding when I said I wanted sex on the beach. I _will_ get it," he smirked.

Naminé brushed the comment off, not knowing he was serious. She made the mistake of turning away from him. He hadn't done it in a long while, so she stupidly trusted him when he said he wouldn't do it again for a while.

Roxas drew his arm back as far as it could go, then swung full force. Naminé grabbed at her backside as the blow connected and turned away from him. "Son of a bitch, that hurt!"

"Sorry. I had to make up for lost time," he shrugged with a shy grin.

 **XXX**

 **Edited: 10.24.15**

 **Now that I've finished Blind Marriage, I'll be focusing more on this story and will update faster. Or as fast as I can. I'll be back with more shenanigans!**


	15. Best Friends

**Another lemon. Saturdays are now my favorite days. I thought it was Friday, but no. Saturday is anime day.**

 **To my old and new readers and reviewers, I love you guys! Stay nerdy, my friends. :D**

 **XXX**

 **15**

The train squealed as it pulled to another stop. Roxas opened his eyes and tried to sit up, but Naminé eased his head back down onto her lap and ran her hand through his hair lovingly. "It isn't our stop, yet. This is Radiant Garden."

"How much longer?" he mumbled as he inhaled the scent of her pale pink skirt, then buried his face between her thighs.

"We just have to pass through Traverse Town, then we'll be there. About another two hours. And get your face _out of there!_ "

"You usually _like_ when my face is between your legs..."

She slapped the back of his head. He knew she would keep doing so if he didn't move, so he decided to appease her and moved his head back a bit. "Abusive," he spat halfheartedly.

"Get over it."

Yawning, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked the time. It was six thirty-three. They had been on the train since five thirty and the ride was three hours long. He had three uninterrupted hours with Naminé, yet he chose to sleep them away.

The blonde rock star straightened his black snapback with DALLAS in white on the front and rolled onto his back to look at her through his dark shades. "What's Des I like? I have a few friends there, but I've never actually been before."

Naminé smiled. "It's amazing. Everyone there is so friendly and fun. It's a really small town, so everybody knows everyone. The beach is beautiful during the day and breathtaking at night. It's just wonderful."

He smiled as nostalgia washed over all her features. "You must really love it there."

"I do. I'm glad you wanted to come because I really want you to see it. My friends are going to freak when they see you."

He smirked and reached up to cup her face. "Yeah, how does it feel to be dating a celebrity?"

 _Dating...? No._

"You wish we were."

"Nope, I know we are. You're the only woman I-"

"Olette."

He shot up like a bat out of hell and glared at Naminé. "I-! Fuck her! Fucking goddamn it! That bitch gives _aspirin_ a headache," he hissed.

The peroxide blonde laughed at the other's reaction. "I'm kidding, dude! I was kidding! But I'm not claiming you as my boyfriend in front of people."

"Oh yes you will. We had sex more that once and I'm still interested in you. That means we're dating. So you _have_ to claim me," he stated matter-of-factly.

"What if I'm not interested in you?" she smirked.

"You don't have a say so!" he laughed as if it were obvious. "You are mine. Not meaning that I own you, but meaning you're my girlfriend. If you can tell me right now that you don't want me, I won't claim you."

Naminé blushed. Even though she couldn't see his eyes, she knew than he was giving her a smug look. That stupid, arrogant prick. "Shut up and go back to sleep you dumbass."

Smiling, he stuffed his face into her cleavage and muttered a goodnight. She smacked him so hard that he fell off the bench. The entire train car laughed at him as it pulled off to its next destination.

XXX

Riku, Xion, Roxas, and Naminé exited the train with all their belongings in tow. Just across the street, thankfully, was a rental car building. It was unanimously decided that Roxas would be the chauffeur for the entirety of the trip, so he rented the car. Arriving in a limo would just attract unnecessary attention.

Like a gentleman, he assisted Riku in taking the girls' bags and fitting them into the trunk. And then they were heading into town in the large white SUV.

"Where to first?" he asked as the needle on the MPH gauge eased into a jaw dropping ninety-six.

"There's a hotel right next to the beach with an amazing view. We're gonna check in there for the trip," Xion told him.

He nodded and let Naminé show him the way. The entire time, he was just enjoying Namine's scent. It had been bothering him since they first got on the train.

Driving the rest of the way, he was calm. While checking in, he was calm. On the elevator, he was calm. When they got to their room, her scent overwhelmed him.

"Roxas, can you hand me my-? What the-!?" The entire world spun for a minute. When it stopped, she was pinned to the bed on her stomach. "Let me up, you dick!" she frowned.

Roxas ignored her and buried his face into her neck as she struggled. "I need you, Starr. Please don't make me a rapist."

"Are you serious!? I swear to God, I'll leave if you do that to me! I will fucking kill you, Johannes! Let me the fuck up!" she spat as she struggled harder.

"I'm kidding! God, chill. I would never _actually_ rape you because I'd never be able to forgive myself." When she didn't say anything back, he frowned. "Starr, I wouldn't intentionally hurt someone I care about. Do you listen to me at all when I tell you I care about you?"

Her struggles slowly came to a stop. She heard the sincerity in his voice and knew he was telling the truth. "I do listen to you."

"Do you not believe me then? Why do you push me away?"

Naminé felt him lift up enough for her to roll onto her back. "I believe you. And I don't try to. Sometimes I just...I get embarrassed. You've probably had sex with lots of people. I've only ever had sex with a couple people- Vani and I took a lot of breaks, do _not_ ask. My mind doesn't see you as Roxas. It sees you as Jo and I can't help but think what if I don't meet your expectations? You've had a hell of a lot of experience."

Roxas laughed and shook his head. "Sweetheart, you yourself _are_ my expectations. Is that why you push me away?"

She nodded slowly, not entirely sure how to answer him.

"Baby..." He kissed her cheek and laughed again. "I wouldn't keep having sex with you if I hated it. I want you to be comfortable with me. Don't ever doubt yourself again. You're not perfect, but I think you're perfect for me." For good measure, he pulled a couple of her buttons apart and kissed her just below her collar bone.

A certain raven haired someone came to mind as she closed her eyes.

XXX

"What would you ever do if we broke up?" Naminé asked as she walked down the street with her boyfriend. She knew she made him uncomfortable because he gave her hand a small squeeze.

"For good?"

"Mm-hm..."

Vanitas looked down at her and forced a smile. "The cheesy thing for me to say would be nothing. I know we won't ever break up," he laughed softly. The smile quickly faded as he stopped walking. "If we did break up...for good...then I'd try to stay your friend. Just know that if we ever do, I'd want you to find someone that loves you just as much as I do."

Naminé looked up at him, noting the bright sparkle in his eyes. It was her way of knowing he was serious. "I love you, Vanitas," she smiled.

"I love you too." He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed lightly. "I'm so sorry, baby. I never meant to hurt you. Please... _please_ don't ever leave me again."

 _Vanitas..._

XXX

The sparkle was in Vanitas' eye when they got back together after taking a break. That same sparkle was there in _Roxas'_ eyes when he looked at her. She was hoping she wouldn't be the first to say it, but she didn't mind it now. "Roxas, I-"

His thumb pressed against her lips and jumbled the rest of her words. After a few seconds, he removed it and pressed his lips to hers in a chaste kiss. "I love you. It's only fair that I say it first."

It felt like those three words forcibly pulled all of the air out of her. Hearing him say it made her realize that she truly loved him as well.

Roxas was only able to gaze down at her innocent face for a couple seconds before something powerful wiped that innocence away. She looked...like a hungry animal. He couldn't describe it with any other word. "Hey, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortab- Mmh!" Naminé yanked him towards her and crashed her lips against his. He lost himself in the kiss, then found himself on his back seconds later. "N-Namine?"

She looked down at him with lust-filled eyes and gave a half smile. "You wanted me to be comfortable with you, right?" Her hands carefully reached up and took the bun down. Peroxide blonde curls fell past her shoulders as she leaned forward with her hands on his chest. "Well I'm trying now. I'm not just gonna lay on my back and do nothing all the time. It's my turn to please _you_."

Almost immediately, Naminé unzipped his pants and yanked them down. He was about to say something else, but she had already reached inside his boxers. Her hand wrapped around his length and slowly started to pump it.

Roxas bit down on his lower lip as his face turned beet red. "Good _Lord_..." he breathed heavily. Naminé smiled at his reaction. Unlike him, she wouldn't sit there and tease him for ten minutes. She wanted him just as much as he wanted her and didn't plan on wasting time.

His trembling hands reached up to finish unbuttoning the white shirt that resembled a uniform. In fact, her whole outfit looked like a school girl's uniform. A smile spread across his lips as her shirt draped open and exposed her matching white bra. The only thought lingering in his mind was that there was an absolute goddess straddling and stroking him.

And then she leaned down to kiss him. Some kind of weird desperate gurgle came out of him as she took her hand away and slid his boxers down as well. He's never felt so powerless and so amazing at the same time before.

Realization hit him hard as he snatched away from the kiss. "The condoms are in my bag across the room...and I don't want to get up."

Naminé rolled her eyes and stuck her hand in her bra. Roxas' eyebrows nearly

shot up to his hairline in amusement as she pulled out a golden Trojan packet. "Riku insisted I keep one there in case of an emergency. Who knew he'd be right?" she giggled.

"Remind me to thank Riku later. You wanna put it on for me?" he grinned.

"Is this what it feels like to be a guy? Do you have to do everything?" she frowned.

"To put it simply, yes. We, as men, have to do everything because your vaginas demand so much from us. But I don't mind with you. Go on, my little Playboy Bunny."

Though she didn't like the new nickname, she obeyed and slid the condom on him. After that, he literally ripped her panties off of her and threw the shredded fabric across the room. "I need those!" she frowned.

"Not right now, you don't. Now please, for the love of God, do something..." His hands gripped desperately at her waist as she slid down onto him and filled herself completely.

She didn't wait for comfort because she knew her body well. The longer she waited, the more it would hurt the next morning. It was weird, but it was true. So she pressed her palms against his chest for balance and rode him like he wanted her to.

Roxas' hips bucked upwards to meet her thrusts and groaned. He was loud, but it's not like he gave any fucks. The whole damn block could hear him for all he cared. This was one of life's finest luxuries that he could honestly say he deserved.

Eventually, Naminé's moans were as loud as his. Neighbors from the two rooms on either side of theirs started to bang on the walls to get them to quiet down. The banging was ignored.

Surprisingly, Roxas was the first to release. This time, it couldn't be avoided. He just said the first thing that came to mind. "Goddamn it..."

Naminé giggled. "That's _so_ original, Mr. Spontaneous."

"Pft, I usually _am_ spontaneous. See, I was just caught off guard when you jumped me," he laughed.

"Jumped you!? Please! You attacked me as soon as we got in the room! I just...decided to stop pushing you away like you said."

Roxas grinned up at the ceiling, letting all of his teeth show in their wonderful pearlescence. His skin was almost glowing brighter than the room lights above. For the first time in a long time, he was in a happy relationship. Whether she claimed him or not, she was his girlfriend.

"What's with the huge smile?" Naminé laughed.

He shrugged, then gently laid her head on his shoulder. "I dunno," he shrugged. "Hey, I remember Demyx saying something about you wanting to be a choreographer. We can make that happen, you know."

"That was random."

"I'm random. Deal with it. My question is do you want it to happen? It can very soon."

 _It wouldn't be the same without Vanitas._

The thought of him made her heart clench painfully. Vanitas still meant a lot to her and dancing without him would feel like betrayal. But it also made her feel alive. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying Demyx and I filled out an application for you to go to a competition. We haven't sent it in yet because we wanted your consent. Will you do it?"

"What exactly do I have to do?" she asked.

"They'll assign you to a group of amateur dancers. If you can teach them routines that are good enough to win five rounds, you'll get to choreograph a dance for the celebrity of your choice. Then the word will spread and everyone will eventually want to work with you."

They really went through the trouble of filling out an application for her? Now she had no choice. It would be a shame to pass up an opportunity like this. "Thanks Roxas, but no. Don't turn in the application."

He nodded. If she didn't want to, he wouldn't force her to. She probably had a legitimate reason for not doing it and he was fine with that.

Silence passed over them as he reached up to mess with the charm on her collar. It looked like it belonged on a chain instead of a collar. "What is this? Is it from Vanitas?"

She shook her head. "No. My father. He gave it to me when I was little. After he died, I just couldn't let go of it."

He dropped it as if touching it would offend her. "Sorry. I didn't mean to touch it."

Giggling, she shook her head. "It doesn't offend me or anything. I'm your best friend, right? I shouldn't keep anything from you."

"No, you're my _girlfriend_. I'm not gonna keep telling you this, little girl."

"Little girl!?" she gaped. Her anger faded as he flashed his best smile. Naminé closed her eyes and sighed through her nose. "Why do you have to have such a stupid smile, stupid?" she mumbled with a blush.

"Aw, shut it. You like my mouth."

"Your mouth is stupid."

"That's not what your vagina said..." he laughed, quickly dodging away from her hand as she swatted at him.

She kept trying to hit him until he pinned her arms down. Naminé was pretty strong for her size, so it was hard to subdue her. It helped that she got distracted by his arm band. "How come you never take this off?" she asked.

Roxas' face drained of all color. "I...it has a lot of s-sentimental value," he panicked slightly. "My grandfather gave it to me before he died."

Naminé nodded. She already knew that. But he had to take it off around the people he trusted or something. Why didn't he? "I know that. But you _never_ take it off. You didn't wear it much when you first came out. And it was always on the _right_ arm."

Roxas sat up and moved her to the side to fix himself. Naminé did the same, but out of slight embarrassment and guilt. She didn't mean to upset him. And she most definitely didn't want to be half naked when he was fully clothed. "Roxas, I'm sorry. I won't ask about it again."

He turned towards her, but kept his eyes on the band. "I'm not mad...at you. Just kinda mad at myself." Naminé watched as the band came off. On his wrist were a bunch of painful looking scars. Big ones, small ones, and a particularly wide one that looked like it could've taken his life.

That's when it clicked. Roxas used to cut.

"My earlier years weren't the best. I did a lot of self destructive things with other self destructive people. I thought this," he motioned to his damaged wrist, "and drugs were the solution to my problems. I had three seizures and nearly bled out in front of one of my old maids."

"Do...do you still-?"

"No. But that also doesn't mean that all my problems are gone. Ever since I met you, I haven't had the urge to...cut. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me, Nami. You're my best friend."

It was then that she realized that Roxas wasn't always a bag of sex and anger. She could tell that he used to be a sweet person, not that he wasn't sweet now. Something had changed him, but she didn't know who, what, when, where, why, and how. Constantly talking about sex and acting like his age fluctuated between two and sixteen was kind of like his defense mechanism. Maybe one day when Olette was out of the picture, he'd tell her. Waiting was worth it.

"You're my best friend too. And I love you."

Roxas smirked and leaned forward to kiss her. "I love you more."

XXX

Since they wouldn't have anything else to do until tomorrow, Roxas drove down to the beach. The sun was starting to set and Naminé wouldn't stop talking about the beach. He just had to see this perfect sunset she was talking about.

The large SUV pulled into the parking lot across the street and they walked over to sit in the sand just next to the water. "Wow," he smiled. "The sunset really does look amazing here. It looks just like it did on campus a couple years ago."

"Isn't it perfect?"

Roxas smiled to himself and resisted the strange urge to say something cheesy like _you are_. "It is. So...what made you move to Twilight Town if you love Destiny Islands so much?"

"I always wanted to move there because I thought it was just a wonderful place. I was always fascinated with Twilight Town because of all the lights, the opportunities, and because I thought it would be a nice change. Xion and I moved to Twilight Town after Vanitas' plane...you know. It sucks because I miss this place so much."

As he watched the red sun sink into the ocean, he thought about why she never moved back. "And you decided to stay once you got there?" he asked.

"I didn't have a choice. I hated living in Twilight Town. It was way too fast paced for an island girl like me and I didn't think I'd ever get used to it. Xion and I were planning to move back this summer, but then you forced me to take this job. After I got comfortable with my new job as your maid, I didn't want to move anymore. That's why Riku moved in with Xion."

His smile turned into a sad one. "I'm sorry about that. I wasn't thinking about whether or not you actually wanted to work for me. I...I didn't want to keep seeing you once or twice a day. You were a refreshing change in my drag of a routine and I liked it. I've liked you for your personality since day one."

Both of their eyes met at the same time. Roxas was being abnormally shy and she didn't know why. As if he sensed her confusion, he shrugged. "I'm not usually this open with people. I don't even trust that many people."

"That's another thing we have in common, then. Only a select few know my secrets. You...my friends don't know about you yet. I'd like them to, though."

"It's only fair. All my friends know I'm crazy about you, even though I've never admitted it to them. You're the only one that needs to know for a fact until I can break my contract."

Looking into his eyes, she only saw Roxas. Vanitas was the furthest thing from her mind in that moment. Her heart raced as he cupped her cheek and leaned closer. This wasn't their first kiss, but it felt like it was. She felt like a teenager all over again.

Their lips met in a heated passion. Naminé's arms wrapped around his neck in an attempt to pull him even closer. It was every couple's dream kiss.

And beneath the darkness of their own lids, they saw a camera flash.

Roxas pulled away and glared in the direction it came from. There was a guy running away from them with a camera in his hand. These sleazy paparazzi just didn't know when to quit meddling.

"Get back here, you fuck!" The blur of blonde rage was up and running before Naminé could stop him. He tackled the man to the ground, snatched the camera away, and punched him in the face. He didn't care that several more cameras were capturing every second of it. What mattered was that this picture didn't get out and Olette didn't see.

He drew his arm back and slammed the camera into the pavement right next to their van, then crushed the remains under his boot. Even the flashes froze as he lifted his bone chilling glare up at the group. "I'm on fucking vacation, so _knock it off_. If I see any of you here again, I'm knocking bitches unconscious. Now get the hell out of my face."

The group scrambled away from him and hopped back into their van. The headlines for every talk show were already running through his head. Jo Attacks Paparazzi, Jo Snaps, et cetera, et cetera.

Hopefully the camera he destroyed was the only camera with the photo on it.

When he turned around, he saw Naminé stop in front of him, then supported her weight under her knees. "What the hell...was that?" she panted from the run.

"You're out of shape, fatty," he chuckled.

She glared, but didn't comment on it. "Answer my question."

He rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged. "Olette could see. I already told you I didn't want anything to happen to this pretty face. I have to do what I have to do to keep this a secret."

She understood that completely, but Roxas feared that she would feel like his mistress. He hugged her and buried half of his face into her hair. "I can't wait until this contract is broken. I wanna show you off," he grinned.

Naminé rolled her eyes playfully. "Oh whatever. Let's just go back to the hotel."

 **Edited: 10.26.15**


	16. Affections

**I'm back with more story! My updates may be a bit more random and irregular until after October third. I can't promise any specific dates...or general areas of time. My life is** _ **just that hectic**_ **at the moment.**

 **And now you read!**

 **XXX**

 **16**

In the morning, Roxas woke up to an empty bed. He tried to quell his panic and slowly sat up. Even though he had friends and family, his worst fear was being left alone. If Naminé left him, he was sure his sanity wouldn't last long.

He swung his feet over the edge and let them touch the warm carpet. The hotel room was quiet, save for a low rustling sound in the bathroom. His fears disappeared as the door opened. Naminé stepped out in only a new beige bra and a pair of white jeans, towel drying her hair.

His eyes caught sight of black ink for the first time as she turned to grab some of her stuff. A tramp stamp? How did he not see that before?

Instead of blurting out something and making a fool of himself, he stood and stretched. "Morning."

"Morning!" she laughed.

He quirked an eyebrow and chuckled. "Happy?"

"Yeah. I had the best sleep of my life last night. It was definitely meant for me to be back in Destiny Islands."

Roxas grabbed one of Naminé's v-neck shirts and a pair of distressed blue jeans. "I'm stealing your shirt. I wanna wear it."

Naminé brought the towel down and the damp curls of her hair framed her face. It made her look a couple years younger somehow. "Can you even fit my shirt?"

"Probably _not_. I can try to make it fit, though. If not, I'll just wear your jacket," he shrugged.

His mission was to wear something of hers. And eventually he'd make her wear something of his. After all, isn't that what couples do?

The shower took all of ten minutes. The shirt didn't fit, as he suspected, so he settled for wearing blue jeans with his own Disturbed t-shirt and her white sweater. The sweater almost didn't fit, but it was just big enough to contain his muscles without ripping the fabric. On the other hand, that poor v-neck was done for.

"Where are we headed today?" he asked.

"No idea. I don't know where to go. What about you?"

Him? He knew nothing about this town. How could he decide where to go? "I don't know. Where did you go for fun when you lived here?"

Her hip cocked out as she folded her arms and thought. There were so many places she wanted him to see. He'd been to the beach, so that was out. "We could go to Outfield?"

"The...what?"

Naminé gasped, covering her mouth with her hands. "You've never heard of Outfield!?"

He shook his head. Naminé quickly pulled on a blue shirt and grabbed her blow dryer. "Wait til my hair starts cooperating. Outfield is definitely the destination for today."

XXX

It was nothing like Roxas expected. There was a large grassy area closed in by an even larger black fence. In front of that was a black painted brick building with a cursive, neon red Outfield sign at the very top. It had two large glass windows on either side of the entrance, which was guarded with two men in police-like uniforms.

Naminé led him to one of the windows with a slight bounce in her step. At the window was a middle aged man who wore a navy blue uniform with some kind of motor vehicle on the left shoulder and khaki pants. Below the vehicle emblem, _Luxord_ was sewn into the fabric.

The man himself had short blond hair and sideburns that connected to his goatee. Through the blonde, Roxas could see tiny strips of white starting to show. His eyes were a pale blue and his right ear was completely consumed by hoop earrings, save for the single diamond stud lodged in the lobe.

This is what midlife crisis at the beginning stages looks like.

Both he and Naminé's eyes widened in delight as their eyes met. "Naminé?"

"Mr. Gambler, hi! Oh my God, when'd you stop teaching!?" she beamed.

He scoffed. "The year your class left. I told you guys you were the best graduating class I've ever had. Then I saw the next graduating class coming and nearly had a heart attack right there. So I came here."

Naminé laughed. "So true. They _were_ horrible. Quick question: I brought Xion's card with me. Can he use her access pass?"

"I think he- Holy shit, is that Jo!?"

Roxas tossed a glance up to see the the red tip of his snapback, slightly angry. Guess the hat and shades trick didn't work as well as it used to. "Damn it..." he drawled.

The peroxide blonde nodded. "Yeah, that's him. He came down here with me. So we're kind of on vacation."

Luxord sighed and leaned forward. "Girl, Selphie just left with her friends. Her ovaries would fucking _explode_ if she saw him," he warned.

"Most likely. Mine almost did."

Luxord laughed. "Well, the pass doesn't have a picture, so I'd say he can use Xion's. Give 'em here."

Naminé slid him the passes and let him swipe both through a machine. He waited for it to chime before handing them back with a set of keys. "Here you go. You know where to go. Before you two leave, can I get an autograph from him?"

Naminé narrowed her eyes in confusion.

"For...my daughter."

"I don't remember you having children-"

The man fumed as he stomped like a child. "Just get me the damn autograph!" he mumbled so that the star couldn't hear him.

Naminé laughed and nodded. "Rox, Luxord wants your autograph for his daughter."

"No problem. You have something for me to..." Luxord already had Dead Alive's newest album and a sharpie in his hands. "Okay, then! Who am I making this out to?" Roxas laughed.

Luxord seemed to panic. "To, um, Shaquisha," he blurted.

"And how do you spell that?"

"...L-U-X-O-R-D."

Roxas snickered as he signed the case and handed it back. Each autograph varied from person to person; Luxord's was _To my best bud Luxord. You rock Shaquisha!_

Despite this, he still seemed happy about the autograph.

"Thanks a lot. Happy Birthday Naminé, in case I don't see you Wednesday!"

"You remembered! Thank you!" Naminé stuffed the passes into her boot and twirled the keys on her finger. Two men escorted them to a white room with lots of equipment. They asked her if she'd be doing any flips, to which she replied hell yeah.

What motor vehicle did flips!?

They handed both of them driving gloves, shin guards, arm pads, and something that looked like a laser tag vest.

Once they were all done, the workers stood in front of the door. "Remember, this is not bumper cars. If we catch you bumping another vehicle, you'll be banned from the premises. No hitting the guards, no ramming the fence, no fighting, and no playing chicken. Is that clear?"

"Yes Sirs," Naminé smiled, literally bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"Alright then. Have fun." As soon as they stepped out of the way, Naminé dragged Roxas to the field.

"Um...what the hell's that?" Roxas asked. Naminé stood in front of a red vehicle that had some kind of dome-like opening and had no wheels. It looked more like a space ship than a car.

"It's a Gummi truck. They invented these three years before I was born and they're really fun. For some reason, people outside of Destiny Islands have never heard of them. I assumed you would have because you're rich and famous." He shook his head and watched as she lifted the dome. "Get in!"

Whether it was actually safe or not wasn't up for debate. It was better if he just didn't think about it. He slid in behind her and let her close the dome over their heads. "You might want to hold on to the side bars. This thing goes fast," Naminé smirked.

He rolled his eyes and scoffed. "I'm a big boy, I think I can handle it."

She shrugged and stuck the key in the ignition. The truck shuddered to life and jerked up into the air. Roxas grabbed the side bars and let a girlish shriek escape him. "W-What the hell i-is this thing!?"

"I told you, it's a Gummi truck! It hovers!" Naminé yelled over the loud hum of the truck. It sounded like an A/C unit on surround sound. The entire vehicle shook violently, though it didn't appear to be moving at all except for the light bobbing it did as it hovered in the air.

Roxas looked at the complicated controls and gulped. "Y-You know how t-to work this thing, r-right?"

She laughed, calming his racing heart a bit. "Yes, I do, calm down. You sound like you're about to piss yourself." With that, she pushed forward on the plane-like steering wheel and sent the Gummi truck flying.

Instead of grabbing on to the sides again, Roxas wrapped his arms around Naminé's waist and squeezed. "I don't like it, I don't like it, _I don't like it!_ "

"Chill, man-"

"I'M GONNA PEE!"

Naminé stopped the Gummi truck and laughed. Hard. Roxas wouldn't let go and his entire body was shaking in terror. "I wasn't even going...that fast! It hurts!" she laughed.

Roxas frowned. "It's not that funny. You were going way too fast."

"I was doing eighty Gummi miles per hour, which is forty miles in a real car. You're telling me you can do 105 in your car, but you can't handle forty?"

"It's different in here! This is like a Fiat! Have you ever wrecked a Fiat!? It's not very fun for the passengers!" he spat.

She shook her head. "Fine. I'll go slower, you crybaby."

XXX

After the two left the Outfield, Roxas stayed silent. The taller blond's feelings were hurt. More than that, his chest kind of hurt too. Inside the truck, Naminé told him to brace himself. He ignored her, then screamed when she flipped the truck and tossed the two of them out onto the hard astroturf. She tried to explain that they were supposed to fall put, but he didn't want to hear that.

Naminé noticed his pout/frown and hid her smile. "You okay, Roxas?"

"Mm."

"Are you mad at me?"

"Hmph."

"I love you."

"Mm-hm."

Naminé sighed and laid her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry you hurt your penis during the fall. Is that better?" she joked.

"No. You have to kiss it to make it better," he grumbled.

 _Really? He can be a pervert even when he's angry?_

The comment was ignored. His anger didn't last long because he eventually pulled over and took his seatbelt off. She looked up and saw his smile, which coaxed hers into coming out of hiding. "Yes, that's better. What about you? Are you feeling okay?"

She made a disgruntled noise, giving off the impression that she had a bad day. Really, she just wanted a kiss without asking for it. "Sort of."

"Sort of? That just won't do. I need to keep my little Starr happy. What do you want me to do for you today?" He leaned down and initiated a kiss. Naminé smirked triumphantly as her lids fluttered shut. That was a new trick she'd keep for later.

 _Damn it. How can I feel so strongly about someone I've only really known for two months now? It feels so surreal_ , Naminé thought.

As they pulled away, Roxas' teeth pulled gently at her bottom lip. It trembled once it was released from it's flawless white prison. "I can't wait for your birthday. I've got something big planned for you."

Naminé sighed as he pressed his lips to the petal soft skin of her neck, then slowly moved back up to her lips. "I love you, Naminé."

A smile crept onto her face, along with a rosy blush. "I love you too."

XXX

Olette sighed as she sat cross-legged on the large bed. She had a pillow in her lap and a bowl of chocolate cereal in her hands. That backwards eating that Naminé told her about was really working for her.

Though she suspected she was sleeping with Roxas, she still _sort_ of liked her as a person. Which was weird. Had it been anyone else, she would've hurt them badly. Naminé had been a great friend to her. If Roxas was playing her, then she felt bad because she could see that Naminé really liked him.

She turned the channel to her favorite talk show and ate another spoonful of her chocolate puffs. Stupid Roxas with his stupid likeable face. She didn't care if she was partially the reason he turned out the way he did. He was still a dick.

 _"I've got some news about our favorite rock star."_

Oh great. Just what she needed. Why didn't anybody talk about her nowadays? To her, Roxas was nothing but a sex crazed moron with an average voice and an above average penis size.

 _"I promised you an update and here it is. Remember our little blonde friend that came out of nowhere? The one we see with Jo a lot now?"_

A picture of Roxas and Naminé popped up on the screen behind the female host. They were walking past the poparazzi to get into the studio the day that was taken.

 _"Last time I brought this up, I thought she was with Trapson. You know, from Dead Alive? You remember this..."_

Another picture came up. Demyx and Naminé appeared to be having drinks at a party. Olette thought they looked cute together. They should have been a thing so she could've kept Roxas to herself.

 _"Even more so when Jo tweeted: Naminé and I are best friends. That's it. What we have is totally platonic. Let's not forget I'm with Olette, guys. In all honesty, I forgot all about Olette until this post."_

"Bitch," the brunette hissed.

 _"And I believed the post until this surfaced today."_

Olette dropped her spoon as the picture showed. The two of them were sitting in the sand on the beach, lips pressed together in a way that expressed so much more than just lust. It was a beautiful Kodak moment that brought tears to her eyes for so many different reasons.

The first was because she knew Naminé deserved it. She had been nothing but kind to the both of them, more or less to Roxas, and it was only a matter of time until he went after her. He was attracted to her genuineness and attitude. She wouldn't put up with his shit and he liked that.

Another was because she wanted to _be_ Naminé in that moment. Olette wanted to be the center of his attention and the object of his affections. But he just made her so angry when he was around and she can't help but act the way she does towards him. _She_ mattered; Roxas didn't.

Most importantly, she'd lost. Olette had everything every girl could ever want, but Naminé had the one thing that she wanted so desperately. Roxas.

But she'd be damned if she just let him go without a fight. If he was ever going to love her, she just had to try a little harder. Get Naminé out of the way.

 _"Totally platonic!"_ the host joked. _"My question is, where the hell is Olette while this is happening three towns over? I just know she won't stand for this. Everyone that's ever worked with or for her has said the girl is crazy. Our poor friend might-"_

Olette turned the TV off and sat the bowl on the dresser. Next to the bowl was her phone. "He just doesn't fucking learn, does he? I guess another bitch just has to get cut and..."

Two very important people flashed in her head and she grinned. "No. I don't have to cut anyone."

At times like this, there was only one person who could take her mind off of everything going on around her. If she called him now, would it be such a bad thing?

"Hello?" a rough voice answered the phone. He didn't sound tired at all, despite it being so late at night.

"Hey you," she smiled.

There was a loud clutter on the other end of the phone, followed by a pained grunt. He always sounded so surprised when she called him. "What?" he sighed.

"I need a favor. I have a lot on my mind and I need stress relief."

He sighed again. "You saw the picture of Roxas and Naminé, didn't you? Why are you still with him? All you have to do is tell your manager we've been seeing each other and-"

"No!" she screamed. "No...I don't want him to leave. I-I love him."

"And he doesn't love you. Why are you doing this to yourself? To me? To him? You know full well that he doesn't love you and he will never love you."

"You don't know that," she muttered. "He never said he didn't love me. We're just having problems. So why not milk this contract for all it's worth?"

"Goddamn it, girl. You're so stupid. You're a fucking model, singer, and actress! There are tons of other guys out there who would love to be with you!"

"None of them are Roxas, so that doesn't matter!"

The line was quiet. Olette bit her lip and waited patiently for him to say something. He laughed, but it lacked its usual joy and mirth. "I'm done. Find someone else to use for sex because I'm not doing it anymore."

The brunette panicked. "You're not done until I fucking say so. Unless you want the world to know about Aqua, you'll do as I say. The seven years for statutory rape aren't up."

The man on the line growled. She'd been blackmailing him with this forever. This was the very reason he hated her so much.

"Alright."

Olette smirked. "What did I tell you to say?"

"Yes...ma'am. What do you need from me?"

Olette bit her bottom lip. "First, I want you to call that number I gave you a little while ago. I've been thinking about this for a while and now it can finally work in my favor. Tell him I have information for him."

Demyx chuckled darkly. "You can't do it yourself? That's pitiful. You're afraid to call him because you know that somehow, Roxas will find out about how you've been sleeping with me for the past few years."

"Shut up..." she growled.

"Oh wait. Maybe you're afraid that he'll find out about you sleeping with your mystery guy. Or Hayner! Or the real reason why I can't fucking stand you! You're terrified aren't you!?" he laughed.

"Look, it doesn't matter! I said call him! Are you going to do it or not!?"

Well it wasn't like he could afford to say no. She knew information about him that could put him in jail. So he would just sit back and watch as her perfect house of cards fell like the thousand pound lie it was. Even if he had to get dragged down with it.

He wasn't allowed to tell Roxas that they were seeing each other, even though they were almost brothers. Olette had threatened him several times and he had gotten the message. If he blabbed, the remnants of his reputation would be ruined. He had skeletons of his own and she knew what they were.

That was why she was either well liked or well hated. She knew too much about a lot of people. This included Naminé, Hayner, him, and mystery guy.

The one question he kept asking himself was how. How did he allow himself to get involved with someone like Olette?

"I'll do it. I suppose you need me to come over as well?"

She nodded, then realized he couldn't see her. "Yes. It's been a while since Roxas and I did anything."

"Sure. Whatever. But I think you should know one more thing."

"And what is that?"

He chuckled again. "I'll be thinking of Naminé the entire time. Just. Like. Roxas. Except he has to take ecstasy just to fuck you."

"Fuck you, Demyx." The brunette hung up and tossed her phone across the wall. It was always about her. Why was everyone so enamored with that Mary Sue?

"Fuck, fuck, _fuck!_ " She screamed as she threw all the pillows off of the bed. "That stupid bitch! You're not gonna fucking win! Roxas is _mine_ , goddamn it!"

With Naminé out of the way, she could finally try to gain Roxas' affections back. That all depended on how quickly Demyx contacted her mystery guy.

 **XXX**

 **Edited: 11.11.15**

 **For those of you who guessed that she was sleeping with one of Roxas' friends, you were right. Later, we're going to find out who her mystery guy is and why she's contacting him.**

 **I won't be able to do review replies on this chapter. Maybe next chapter. But just know that I read all your reviews and every single one is truly appreciated. I'm glad you guys are enjoying the story!**

 **For now. I'm planning something... :D**


	17. Happy Birthday

**17**

You know what's always a fun time? Having a guy with an incredible voice sing to you as your alarm on your birthday. Naminé sighed happily at the sound of Roxas' voice as she opened her eyes. She had woken up from one good dream and dove head first into another.

He smiled when she looked up at him. "Happy Birthday, Sexy."

"Are you gonna make a big deal about this?" she frowned.

" _Yes_ ," he grinned as he sat up and handed her a huge slice of chocolate and vanilla cake, which was her favorite. "Go sexy, it's your birthday. Eat some cakey, on your birthday. Wear your hair down, on your birthday. Cause that's sexy and it's your birthday!" he sang.

Naminé sat up and took the plate out of his hand. "How long did it take you to come up with that?"

"Three and a half hours, on your birthday," he sang.

"Stop it."

"I don't wanna, it's your birthday."

"I'm going back to sleep."

"But I'm excited! _On your birthday!_ "

She glared at him, but it didn't last long. He was being way too adorable for her to actually stay mad at him. His behavior was..kid-like. He was hyper and she kind of liked it. " _Stupid_."

He laughed and pressed their noses together. "Today is _your_ day, Sprinkle Panties-"

"Sprinkle Panties...!?"

"-And I'm going to make sure that this birthday is better than all the other birthdays you've ever had or my name isn't Jo!"

"It isn't," Naminé snickered, noting that his breath smelled like cinnamon toothpaste. That meant he'd been up for a while.

Roxas rolled his eyes playfully. "Shut up. Why do you have to be so damn sexy all the time? Makes it real hard to be mad at you."

He leaned in to kiss her, but she pushed him away before their lips could touch. "Don't kiss me. I just woke up."

"So? I don't mind your dragon breath," he grinned, opting to try again.

Naminé scoffed and pushed him away again. "There's no way I'm kissing you before I brush my teeth. Which I'm gonna go do now."

Roxas waited patiently in the middle of the bed as she brushed her teeth and washed her face. This was the first time he'd been so excited about someone else's birthday. He really wanted her to feel special and loved. If she felt otherwise...he didn't know what he'd do.

"Done," she called.

"Good. I have news that'll make you wanna kiss me. Guess who has two thumbs and helped set up a birthday party with you and all your Des I friends? This guy!" he grinned as he pointed to himself with his thumbs.

She gasped. "You didn't!"

"Oh, but I _did_."

Naminé hugged him and squealed. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! I can't decide if you're super generous or just a huge idiot."

"You know what else is huge?"

"I'm definitely not kissing you now."

Roxas whined. "My _heart!_ My heart is huge! Geez, I'm not always a pervert."

Naminé shook her head and climbed halfway into his lap to hug him. It was harmless for now. "You have done way too much for me already. I don't even know how to thank you."

"You could start by getting your knee out of my heart..." he groaned, motioning to her left leg.

Naminé gasped and flew out of his lap. Seconds later, she cradled his head to her chest and smoothed his hair like one would do a child, supressing her laughter. "Poor baby. I hurt your wee-wee?"

"Mm-hm," he nodded. "Now you have to kiss it better..."

"Die," she spat as she snatched away from him.

 _Can't blame a guy for trying._

XXX

Naminé was bouncing up and down in the passenger's seat like a child. Roxas held back a smile as she flailed her arms around, squealed, and rambled about nothing in particular.

"I can't wait, I can't wait, I can't wait! Your friends are gonna be there, my friends are gonna be there, dude, _we're_ gonna be there! Ahh! I can't wait for everybody to meet everybody! They're gonna kill me if they find out you're claiming me as your girlfriend! Oh my God, oh my God, Kairi will kill me! Oh my God, _Kairi!_ She's so super fun and she loves you! Her ovaries fucking explode every time someone even mentions you! She'll just die when she sees you! I wonder if-"

Roxas sighed playfully as she continued on. Riku and Xion went ahead of them with her friend Selphie, so he had to suffer alone. Lucky them.

He glanced at her and smiled. It made him happy when she took his advice and wore her hair down. When she wore it like that, she looked even more beautiful than she already did.

Three more minutes of her rambling later, Roxas decided he couldn't take it anymore. He pulled the car over and unbuckled both of their seatbelts. Even still, she didn't stop talking. "Naminé, honey..."

She blinked a couple times, then turned to him with a smile. "Yes?"

"Shut up."

"Don't tell me to shut up! I was talking about something really important and you probably didn't even hear me because you tuned me out like a typical guy! Fuck you! It's my birth-!"

He cupped the sides of her face and mashed his lips against hers. All the tension in her body melted away. She even forgot what she was just talking about.

Laughter bubbled out of him as her hands started to undo the buttons of his shirt. "Hold on, Playboy Bunny! Not in the car!"

She glared halfheartedly, which gave Roxas the urge to kiss those cute, frowning lips again. Ever since that beach incident, he couldn't stop thinking about her lips. "But now I want sex..." she whined.

"No. Contrary to popular belief, I _can_ deny you on your birthday. We'll get to that later. I don't think it's a good idea to do that in a car that isn't mine."

"True," she sighed.

"Very true. According to the GPS, we're almost there. Let's try to not have sex until we get back, okay?"

Naminé nodded and smiled. How did she go from seeing him once a day to being with him every minute of the day? From trying to avoid him to being wrapped around his finger? And that last part was almost literal.

Letting go and enjoying time with him as his "girlfriend" felt...good. She loved him and he loved her. What could possibly go wrong?

XXX

As soon as Naminé stepped down, with her boyfriend aiding her by the hand, she spotted her friends at one of the many tables at the park. Roxas had on the snapback and shades again, but he still felt like her knight in shining armor. Her friends didn't notice her until she was a few feet away.

Roxas chuckled as everyone started bombarding her with questions about Jo, Happy Birthdays, and playful death threats. They were all so...different than the people he was used to.

"So!" a redheaded girl screamed above the rest. "Aren't you going to introduce us?" she smirked.

Naminé looked up at Roxas and tried not to laugh. "Of course. Babe, this is Sora, Kairi, Selphie, Tidus, you know Riku and Xion, Rikku the girl, and Yuna. Guys, you will never fucking believe this. This is my boyfriend Roxas Jones."

All the girls at the table rolled their eyes. "Yeah, right. We all know you're just his maid. Stop lying," Kairi, the redhead, frowned.

"She's not lying. We really are dating. Secretly. If it gets out, my fake girlfriend might cut her."

Naminé hit him in the stomach with the back of her hand. " _Why_ would you mention her!?" she hissed.

"You see that? That's how I felt when _you_ used to mention her all the time. How does it feel to be emotionally fucked in the ass!?" he hissed back.

"How would you like to be fucked in the ass with a rusty kitchen utensil!? Because that's what you _just_ did to me!"

He grinned. "I tried to do it with my penis, but you wouldn't let me."

Naminé dragged her hands down the sides of her face, resisting the nearly overwhelming urge to hit him again. She really didn't feel like explaining everything, so she just shook her head at her friends. "It's a long story that I'll tell you all later in group chat on Kik. _They_ aren't really dating."

That seemed to satisfy them. Thankfully.

"So how did you guys meet?" Selphie asked, never taking her eyes off of Roxas. The very sight of him in person had all the females at the table completely mesmerized.

He was about to answer, but his phone rang. It was Axel calling. The band let him drive there and he was terrible with directions. "Hold on for just a second. Yeah?"

"Dude, where's the fucking park!? I can't find it!"

Roxas turned to see if he could spot his car. The red sports car, followed closely by a blue one, was cruising by. "You're fucking passing it up! What are you doing!?"

"Where!?"

"Right here, dipshit! I can see you!"

Naminé snatched the phone out of his hand. "Axel, sweetie, look to your right."

"I just looked that-! Oh, is that you? Haha, got it. Dem is pretty antsy, so be ready for him."

"When am I ever not ready for him? He better be ready for me." Naminé gave the phone back and eagerly awaited Demyx's arrival.

Once he stepped down from his car, he cupped one hand around his mouth and waved with the other. "TWIN!"

"TWIN!" They broke into a sprint at the exact same time. Naminé flew into his arms and they fell to the grass in a tangle of limbs. Her friends watched as they started to roll around and scream like they hadn't seen each other in five hundred years. Unfortunately for Roxas, this was normal now.

After Demyx planted a quick kiss on her cheek, they got up and walked to the table as if that never even happened. The rest of the band exited the two cars and followed behind them. When everyone was present, she introduced everyone again. And she was just beaming with excitement.

"Oh yeah, I met this one in a café. She was the beautiful waitress I couldn't take my eyes off of. I visited that same café every day until I finally convinced her to work for me. A lot of stuff happened and we just kinda met each other in the middle with this relationship."

Naminé mentally facepalmed and rolled her eyes. That was a nice way of saying he kidnapped her phone, forced her to sign a contract, then proceeded to mess with her head until she gave up trying to resist him. But whatever.

And there was no middle! It was just him constantly trying to molest her!

"So sweet!" the girls swooned.

"So gay..." the guys muttered.

Axel and Demyx led the way inside of the latge activities center a little ways across the park, where everything was set up for Naminé's party. They even got two men to watch the door to make sure no sleazy press got in and snapped any pictures. A brunette named Sora provided the music while Selphie and Tidus went to make a food run. Naminé was used to them throwing the parties backwards like that, but her Twilight Town friends were not. They were confused by it.

 _It might be a while before they all start to get along. They're all so different from each other._

XXX

The party was great for Naminé. The band was talking freely with her high school friends and Roxas actually wasn't being a huge pervert for once.

"So what do you have planned for me?" Naminé whispered to him.

"I haven't gotten to it yet. I'll give it to you after the party."

"Oh-ho, will you?"

The joke went right over Roxas' head at first. "Yeah, I just gotta get everything set first." And then he thought about it. "No, you freak! Not like that!" he laughed.

"Really? The sex god doesnt want sex? Whoa..." Naminé laughed.

He definitely did. He just didn't want his urges to ruin her day like they pretty much ruined everything else.

"Hey, what are you two whispering about?" Sora grinned.

Naminé frowned. "How small your dick is. Now shut up, three inches."

"You sure had a hard time swallowing these three inches."

The entire table exploded with laughter. That was the one thing both groups had in common. They both made tons of jokes about each other implying that they once had sex.

Greenlight by John Legend started to play and Roxas grinned. "Throwback! Come on, we're dancing to this."

"No! I don't want to dance!" Naminé whined.

"Too bad! We're dancing! Ass up now!"

Despite her protests, she danced with him. That made everyone else get up too. Everyone danced with everyone with no hesitation or gender discrimination. It didn't matter that some danced better than others. They were all having fun.

The fun really started when 7/11 started to play. All the girls had a good laugh watching Demyx and Roxas have a dance-off to that. Unexpectedly, Demyx won.

"Shit, I'm tired," Roxas breathed as the group sat back down. It was now hot inside of the building and they all needed to cool down.

"You should be. That was quite a show," Tifa laughed.

"I still won," Demyx smirked as he wiped sweat from his brow.

"Only because I couldn't hit that split. You just wait until I do my stretches again."

Naminé grabbed another slice of her cake and sighed happily as she ate. This just had to be the best birthday ever.

Roxas used his index finger to wipe a bit of icing off the corner of her mouth, then stuck the digit in his own. "Sweet." He switched his gaze to the sky for a couple seconds, feigning innocence then brought them back to her. "And the icing too."

"So you know what I taste like?" she asked sarcastically.

"I should." She didn't understand until he flicked his tongue at her and winked. Which everyone saw.

Demyx coughed awkwardly and turned towards the rest of the table. "Well now we know the frosting isn't the _only_ thing he's been eating."

"Yes, of course. Axel eats ass, why can't I eat other things?" Roxas shrugged.

"Why would you tell people that!?" He looked back to the hanging jaws and tried to clarify as Roxas laughed. "I swear to God I don't! Roxas is just dicking around!"

Riku snickered. "So you don't eat it like groceries?"

"I don't eat it at all! Fucking Jhené Aiko..." Axel growled as he stabbed his cake. "Fuck _you_ guys! I'm eating cake!"

XXX

The party finally ended at nine. Everyone agreed to give Naminé quality time alone with her boyfriend, so they ended it earlier than they normally would have.. She said her goodbyes to both groups and sat back down at the table with Roxas.

"Don't you want to go back to the hotel now? Your present's almost ready."

"I don't feel like moving," she yawned.

Roxas laughed as he wrapped his arms around her and picked her up bridal style. "JoJo, I can walk. I swear."

"I'm sure you can. But what kind of Prince Charming would let his Cinderella walk to her carriage? Not a very good one, I'll tell you that."

Naminé laughed and rubbed her tired eyes with her sleeve. "You're an idiot."

He sat her down in the passenger's seat and closed the door for her. At least Roxas wasn't acting like his usual self. It was really sweet and she appreciated it, even if he did revert back to his old disgusting ways the next day.

"You alright?" he asked as the car pulled off.

"Yeah. I'm really excited to see my present. Don't let me fall asleep."

It was hard for him to keep his focus on the road. He was excited about _giving_ her the present, but nervous as hell too. He didn't exactly know how she'd take it. Hopefully she didn't freak out and run out of the room.

It was a long ride back to the hotel for him. Everything he planned to say would most likely come out wrong, so he decided to say nothing. Once he was parked, he carried her all the way back to their room.

Roxas kicked the door closed. "Is there anything you need, hon?" he asked sincerely.

She shook her head. "Just a long soak so I can relax. I danced way too hard at the park. You wanna join me?"

The idea sounded nice, but he declined. Partly because her present would take longer to get to if he did. "No thanks. I can't guarantee that I'll keep my hands to myself. You should spend the rest of your birthday relaxing. Then I can give you your present when you come out."

"JoJo, how many times have we taken showers together? This time will be no different. I don't _want_ you to keep your hands to yourself." With that, she disappeared into the bathroom.

The faucet started to spew water, but Roxas stayed glued to his spot. He was uncertain whether he should follow her or not. If she was serious about this, then he would oblige her. He wanted to, but then again he didn't.

God, why did he have to pick such a terrifying present? That was the only reason he was freaking out the way he was.

A few more minutes passed before the water stopped. Naminé reappeared in only her bra and panties. "Come on, Roxas. It's okay." She pulled him by the hand and into the bathroom. Just like she did in the car earlier, she started to unbutton his shirt.

"Is this really what you want?" he asked as the red flannel fabric floated to the bathroom floor. His question went ignored as she started to undo his jeans. It was impossible to look away now. Sure they'd done this before, but it all seemed so surreal this time. Like a dream neither of them wanted to wake up from.

His pants slid down his legs to the floor and he carefully stepped out of them. "Naminé, are you _sure?_ " he asked again. "I need to know that you'll-"

"Roxas, this isn't our first time. Stop acting like it is."

He opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off when she leaned up to kiss his neck. A pleased sigh escaped him and he welcomed the feel of her lips on his skin. Another kiss was placed on the middle of his chest, and another where his diaphragm should be.

He realized just a little too late what she was up to.

His words got caught in his throat as she rolled his underwear down and gently kissed down his length to the very tip. He hissed as her tongue darted out to taste him before taking him into her mouth.

"Goddamn it," he groaned as she started to move her head back and forth. He had only dreamed of this before. Never in a million years did he think she would actually do that. He thanked every part of the universe for making it happen, though.

He held on to the sides of her head and made shallow forward thrusts. Every single inhibition he had before vanished into thin air. Each thrust he made became less and less shallow, forcing Naminé to take in more than she was accustomed to.

Her gag reflex kicked in, but Roxas was too far gone to realize it. So when she tried to pull away, he held her in place. She wasn't able to pull away until he finally came. Even then, she nearly strangled on the amount he released.

She collapsed to the floor in a coughing fit. "Are you trying to _kill_ me!?" she gasped.

"I am _so_ sorry!" He dropped to his knees to make sure she was okay, trying his hardest not to laugh. It took a while, but she calmed down enough to stand. Once she assured him that she was alright, he hugged her and apologized over and over again.

"It's fine, Roxas. Just get in the water already," she laughed shakily.

He obeyed and watched with genuine interest as she took the last few articles of clothing off, making sure to grab the golden condom packet out of her bra before it fell to the floor. He offered her a hand and she took it. "My, my," he joked. "You look even more beautiful every time I see you."

"Every time you see me _naked_ , that is," she laughed.

"I won't argue with that," he grinned. "Now get in here with me."

She slipped into the water and hissed as the scorching water touched her skin. It was just below the line of unbearable, which was just how she liked it. Because the tub was so small, despite their room being one of the finer suites, she was forced to straddle his lap.

Roxas' hands slid up her sides, then down to her outer thighs. "Happy Birthday, Starr. I wish I could get you something better than just this."

"Don't worry about it. This is perfect."

She ripped the packet open with her teeth- which Roxas enjoyed -and pulled the rubber material out, then quickly pulled it over his throbbing member. With his help, Naminé eased down onto him with a small gasp. Again, she refused to look at him. "Oh no, don't start that again. Look at me, Naminé"

It took a few seconds, but she eventually raised her head to meet his eye. He then realized that it probably made her uncomfortable. "...Nevermind. It's your birthday. You can fantasize about whoever you want."

"I _don't_ fantasize about people. If I'm with you, I'm only thinking about you. I told you that," Naminé frowned.

"Sometimes it's hard to believe that a girl like you would think twice about a guy like me. Nevermind the fact that I'm Jo."

 _Roxas, you are forever a sap._

"Oh, hush." With a grin, Roxas held onto her waist and pulled out of her, only to push back in, hissing softly. This was slower and so much more sensual than what they were used to...but it was actually really nice. Their slow rythym never lost its consistency. And though he was positive he'd never made love in his life, he assumed that was what it felt like.

Maybe that was the true difference between fucking and love making. Not the pace or the empty promises that were made, but when the genuine feelings for the person you're with make you feel like you're on cloud nine.

Roxas' theory was proven correct after the two reached their limit. His high lasted a lot longer than it normally did. Then again, his high always lasted longer with her.

He laughed softly as he held her. All this time he'd never even realized that they hadn't been fucking mindlessly. It was different and...so much better.

XXX

"Was that my present?" Naminé asked as Roxas clipped her bra together.

"How can that be your present when you started it? Go wait for me outside."

"Fine," she grumbled. "But I'm really angry!"

"You won't be for long!"

Naminé walked back into the room and flopped down on the bed. No, she wasn't actually angry at Roxas. She didn't even care if he didn't have a present for her. The party was great and she had fun. She just wanted to mess with him.

The bathroom door opened. "Got your present ready. Come sit in this chair."

After that, music started to play. Naminé sat up, then burst into uncontrollable giggles when she got a look at Roxas. He was leaning against the door frame dressed in a police uniform and holding a baton over his shoulder.

"No..." she laughed.

"Oh yes," he smirked as he walked towards the empty chair, twirling the baton. "For the rest of the night, you have your own personal stripper. Get in this chair, girl."

Struggling to keep her laughter under control, she sat in the chair and watched as Roxas danced for her. It was a bit scary to know how good he was at it. Had he done this before?

Her thoughts were tossed aside when the "officer" hovered over her lap with his arms around her neck and continued his dance. He was way too good at it. It almost seemed effortless.

At that same time, Xion was looking for one of her shirts in the suite across the hall. It was the one with Yogi bear on it. She knew for a fact that she brought it on the trip with her.

"Naminé," she spat. "Always stealing my damn shirts." Xion stomped out of her room and threw her sister's door open. "Where the hell's my-!? _What_ the...?"

Both Roxas and Naminé froze as they looked over at her. Roxas was shirtless...and by the way his pants hung dangerously low on his hips, he was about to come out of those too. She noticed the hat on his head and briefly wondered why he was dressed like a cop.

Wait...police officer, music, lack of shirt? He's definitely stripping for her. Lucky bitch.

"This is...exactly what it looks like," Roxas explained.

She held back a laugh and jerked her thumb in the direction of her own room. "I'm gonna go...somewhere far, far away from whatever this is. May the odds be ever in your favor!"

Roxas gave her a thumbs up for the reference. "Love you for that!" he smiled.

Xion laughed and shook her head. "Love you too Rox." Then she walked back to her own room. Riku was tying his hair back into a ponytail in front of the mirror. "Hey, why don't you ever strip for me to sexy music?" she asked.

He raised an eyebrow in confusion. "I wasn't aware that I was supposed to..."

"Of course you're supposed to, you asshole! Screw you. I'm going to bed."

Riku raised his arms in a what gives gesture and scoffed. "What did I do!?"

"Nothing. Obviously. Just go to bed."

He whined pitifully and crawled into bed beside her. "I love you."

"Shut up."

"Fine. Fuck you too then."

Xion glared. "The hell'd you say to me, _bitch?_ "

"I love you," he smiled, hoping she didn't hear what he said before.

The onyx haired girl sighed and rolled over to face him. "Love you too, baby. Just strip for me sometimes, okay?"

Riku raised an eyebrow, but decided not to question her. "Whatever makes you happy," he chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her.

 **XXX**

 **Edited: 1.21.16**

 **Oh, if only everyone had a birthday like that. That'd be the best day of the year.**

 **The song Roxas sang to wake her up was Princeton Avenue by Tyler Carter. No, that's not the same as the one by Issues, I think, because...it's like an acoustic version. Not exactly though.**

 **I'll be trying to reply to reviews next week or so. I think I'm at 84 right now and THAT'S FUCKING AMAZING FOR 17 CHAPTERS! Thank you guys SO much for reading and reviewing! It makes me all happery and stuffs.**


	18. Vanitas

**18**

Naminé groaned and opened her eyes. They met with a warm, tan pillow. Had she and Roxas fallen asleep in the tub?

No...Roxas stripped for her after that. Now things made sense again.

She sat up and looked down in amusement. Both of them were fully dressed and laying on top of the sheets, though Roxas' shirt was unbuttoned. He kept the uniform on because he thought it made him look sexy. He definitely wasn't wrong.

"Roxas? Wake up," she yawned. He mumbled something, but didn't open his eyes. "Jo, come on."

He sighed deeply and reached his hands up to hold her waist. "Don't wanna. We have nothing to do today."

Exactly. They had nothing to do, which was all the more reason to _find_ something to do. Although staying in bed with him all day was tempting, she wanted to get out and get some fresh air.

Roxas opened his eyes and looked up at her with a tired smile. She was pouting again and he really wanted to kiss it away. "Come here."

She shook her head like a child. "No. You upset me."

"Come _here_ ," he spoke with a slightly more authoritative tone as he lightly squeezed her almost bare thighs.

"No!"

"Fine then. Guess I'm coming to you." He jumped up faster than she could mentally register and threw her on her back. Her legs instinctively wrapped around his waist, though she was afraid he'd take advantage of that if she did. But the overall rush of not knowing what he was doing made ger laugh.

The rock star bit down on her neck until she screamed, then kissed the spot better. "You gonna listen to me next time?"

"Yes, I swear!" she whined.

"Good girl. You want a treat?"

"I will punch you in the damn dick if you keep playing with me..."

He laughed. She was adorable when she was angry. "You give me life sometimes." Their noses touched, and they said nothing for a long while. The silence was comfortable and neither dared to interrupt it.

Roxas wrapped his arms around her lower back and rolled over so that she was on top of him. He figured this way would be more comfortable for the both of them. His mind was racing with several words and verses, but he couldn't exactly put music to it. The fact that he couldn't find the perfect melody irritated him and, consequently, forced him to shove the words to the back of his mind.

Naminé was dozing off, which was the last thing he wanted. She should talk to him because...well...he liked the sound of her voice. He liked when she said things that made him laugh until his sides and stomach ached. He loved when he made her angry and she'd purse her bottom lip the way she did.

It saddened him to think about what would happen when they got back from this trip. He'd have to face the celebrity world and the harsh realities that came with it. The work, the fans, the interviews, the pressure, the drama, that small patch of gray in the middle of his head that he had to keep dying so no one knew just how badly he'd been stressing out; he most certainly wasn't ready for any of that. This vacation was a way for him and Naminé to escape those realities and have a little time to themselves for her birthday.

 _Damn it, she's falling asleep!_

"Starr," he sang into her ear.

"Hm?"

"Don't leave me awake all by myself. Talk to me." She buried her face in his chest and mumbled something that sounded like _about what_. "I dunno. Tell me something no one knows about you, tell me a funny story, tell me a sad story, something you hate...just talk."

Reluctantly, she raised up so that she was now sitting in his lap. He smiled up at her and she forced herself to smile back. "Tired?" he laughed.

"Yes..." She dragged both of her hands down her face and slapped her cheeks a little. "I'm up now."

Roxas chewed at his bottom lip for a while. He knew what he wanted to hear, but was hesitant to bring it up. "Tell me about Vanitas."

"Roxas," she whined. "I don't wanna talk. My mouth is tired..."

He cocked an amused eyebrow and tilted his head as he propped himself up on his elbows. "As much as I would like to make an innuendo, I can't. I've _never_ heard anyone say that to me before. Not ever."

"There's a first for everything, you know," she laughed.

"True." He sat all the way up and pecked her lips softly. Naminé quickly realized he was sporting his famous _Sex Smirk_ and buried her face in her hands. "Why are you hiding from me?" he laughed.

"Because you're thinking dirty! It's always sex with you, even though we do it all the time!"

Roxas kissed the part of her neck that wasn't covered by her shirt or arms and laughed again. She shuddered when he pulled her even closer and pried her hands away from her face. Her cheeks were a bright red and she refused to look at him.

Why was she embarrassed? How many times had they done that before? Did she even remember the night before?

"That, my love, is incorrect. The maid I had before you had sex with me. Olette and I fucked mindlessly. You and I, we make love." He brushed her bangs out of her face and smiled. "The best kind of love."

He didn't think it was possible, but her face reddened even more. "S-Stupid," she mumbled as she twirled her hands together in her lap.

"I'm serious. You make me want to take my time with you..." Again, he pressed his lips to hers, coaxing her into an open mouth kiss. Ever so slowly, Naminé felt herself submit to him. She was his dumb little moth and he was her irresistibly warm and bright flame.

He moved down to her neck and proceeded to suck at the Starr scented skin. It was her scent and he could never get enough of it. "Please," he whispered softly. "Let me make love to you again."

Well how could she say no to that?

"NAMINÉ!" Xion burst through the door. "I forgot last night but where's my fucking shirt!?"

Or maybe she didn't have to. She had to thank Xion later for just bursting in. "I don't have your shirt, Xi. It's in Riku's bag," Naminé glared.

"...Oh. Kay, later!"

Where would she be in life if it weren't for Xion's random interruptions? She could be a life saver sometimes.

"And we were...?" Roxas smirked.

She shook her head and covered her face. " _Talking_. We were talking."

"Aw, come on! We were doing a little more than talking."

He kissed her again, but it was too light. It tickled her and ruined the mood. "Stop it!"

"Don't wanna."

"Seriously!" she laughed. "Get off of me! Vanitas, _quit!_ "

Roxas stopped immediately. He didn't know if he was confused, mad, or hurt. All he knew was that his good mood had vanished. "Did you just call me _Vanitas?_ "

"I...did," Naminé admitted, a bit ashamed of her blunder. "But I didn't mean to. You two act so much alike and I guess...I don't know."

The star pulled her into a hug. For once, he wasn't extremely jealous when thinking of Naminé being with another man. Maybe he was just shocked that she called him someone else. Whatever he felt, it wasn't jealousy. He knew that. "Do you think of him a lot or just when you're with me?" he asked softly.

"It isn't like that. You remind me of him, but I don't think about him all the time. It's random, really."

"You're comparing me to him aren't you?"

She was, but it wasn't intentional. She didn't sit down and start picking the two apart, then do a pro/con list for the both of them. It was like...comparing an old car to a new one. The new one had the input for an audio jack and she just _happened_ to notice the other car didn't.

"I don't mean to..."

"How much do you love him?"

Naminé closed her eyes as she laid her head comfortably on Roxas' chest, now tired. It was natural for her to take a minute to think about it. What kind of question was that? "A lot? I don't know," she shrugged. "Are you asking me if I love you more than Vanitas?"

"I think I am. That was probably insensitive. I'm sorry, I shouldn't ask that-"

"No, I don't care if you ask. I honestly don't know if I can tell you if I do or I don't."

Roxas smoothed her hair and sighed softly. "If you had to choose between us then...at least tell me you wouldn't leave without an explanation."

"I wouldn't leave anyone without an explanation. Over the past two months, you've proven to me that you really love me." She opened her eyes and looked up at him. "Yes, Vanitas and I had so many wonderful years together. I'd ask myself can I really throw all that away because of a nice two months?"

And he completely understood that. He didn't expect her to stay with him if Vanitas was still alive. Vanitas was her first love and he just couldn't compare. Especially with a fucked up past like his.

"Then again..."

Roxas quirked an eyebrow and looked down at her. Was that a but? There was never a but. "Then again?" he echoed.

"I've changed since the last time I've seen him. And I've changed in all the ways I'm sure he wouldn't like. If Vanitas was still alive, I wouldn't go back to him. I can honestly say I've moved on."

A small smile settled itself on his lips. "That makes me feel better. Still, I just want you happy. Don't ever feel obligated to stay with me. Romantically, of course. You're still my maid."

"Well duh. The point is, I won't be leaving you any time soon. Not even if Vanitas miraculously came back to life as a plot twist to our already messed up story."

XXX

Olette refrained from smirking in triumph as she sat in front of a very familiar face. It was her old choreographer from when she went to Agrabah two years ago.

The man's leg bounced impatiently as she sipped her ice coffee slowly. After all this time, she still knew how to grind his gears. Still...she was a very good friend of his. "Come _on_ , Olette. Tell me what you know about her," he growled.

She sat the cup down and adjusted her dark shades. The poparazzi weren't around, thankfully, but she still took precautions. "She's our maid. And she's fucking my boyfriend."

The man narrowed his eyes in confusion. "That doesn't sound like something she would do. If she knows you're together, she would be constantly pushing him away. Even if it _is_ Roxas Jones."

Olette understood his confusion. He lived in Agrabah now and they were always slow on celebrity news because of the lack of modern technology there. They didn't even have TV's. But the place was admittedly peaceful and relieved a lot of stress. Plus, there were almost no poparazzi. It was a celebrity's paradise.

"Maybe not the Naminé you remember," she said as she pulled up the beach picture of the two blonds on her phone.

His eyes widened in anger as he saw it. He didn't doubt for a second that it was her. "What the fuck are you doing, Nam?" he whispered.

The brunette faked a sad sigh. "I don't think it's really her fault. I mean at first I was pissed...but then I remembered that he made her sign a contract. I fear that she may be being forced to sleep with him," she lied.

"That bastard," the man glared. "God, why didn't I come for her sooner?"

He knew he should have, but he was afraid to. After his plane crashed, he wound up being in a coma for three months. Then after that, he moved to Agrabah with his father for business purposes. Despite not having modern technology, the people there were either very rich, very intelligent, or very talented. He benefited off of the new dance moves he learned and became a choreographer while his father went into business with the sultan there.

That wasn't how he met her, though they did see each other a lot there. They actually met in Twilight Town _before_ his plane crashed. He went to a bar to drink some of his stress away, then wound up meeting "Casey" there. She came on to him and that led to drunken sex at some fancy hotel. Every single day he woke up was a day that he regretted cheating on Naminé with Olette, once he found out who Casey really was. Meeting her in Agrabah was sheer coincidence.

As his golden brown eyes roamed over the picture again, he felt a deep sadness mix with his building rage. If this guy really was using her like that he'd kill him. Naminé didn't deserve to be treated like a sex slave.

On the other hand, she didn't deserve for an old ghost to come barging into her life after three years of being separated from him. That was three years he could have been searching for her and making things better; three years they could've already been married and have started a family.

"Why didn't you tell me before?" he whispered. "You knew I missed her."

"I had no idea it was really her until just recently. You know you're my best friend. I would never want you to hurt like this, Van."

When Olette had confirmed that Roxas was cheating on him with Naminé, she admittedly wanted to cut the little maid. But because she knew Vanitas, she formulated an even better plan. Why hurt her physically when she could just ruin her on the inside?

It was crazy, but she knew from the moment she laid eyes on Naminé that Roxas would go after her. She knew that she was the same girl Vanitas always talked about the very first time they met. Platinum blonde hair, deep blue eyes, short and feisty, last name White. It didn't take a genius to put two and two together.

Vanitas pushed the phone away from him with a sneer. He didn't like Roxas at all at that point. "Where is she?"

"Out of town. _With_ him."

"You call me the _second_ they get back into town, okay? I'm gonna get my woman back if it's the last fucking thing I do. Famous or not, I'll kick his ass."

"Of course I will. You deserve her."

The two stood, concluding their little meeting. Olette was about to add another lie to the already raging fire inside him, but Vanitas pulled her into a tight hug. "Thank you so much for telling me this, Olette. Naminé's such a sweet girl and she's constantly losing the people she cares most about. I won't let her lose me too."

The brunette's heart sank like lead. Why did she feel bad about herself for planning this? Why did she feel bad for Naminé? If it were anyone else, she wouldn't have given it a second thought.

"You're...welcome," she forced a smile as she pulled away. "We'll come up with a full plan when you have more time."

He nodded and walked past her to the coffee shop exit. As a choreographer, he was very busy nowadays. She waited until his car pulled off before she went to her own.

As Olette sat alone in her car, she thought back on all the conversations she'd had with Naminé. It wasn't necessarily her fault that she and Roxas hooked up. She could see in his eyes that he was in love with the girl. He wanted her and he often got what he wanted.

Naminé was a sweet girl. Vanitas was a sweet guy. She wouldn't say Roxas was sweet, but apparently he was doing something right if Naminé liked him. That's probably why she felt guilty. She was close to ruining the life of one of the few true friends she had.

It was almost enough to make her call her manager and tell him the deal was off and that he could rip up the contract. Almost. Until Roxas told her to her face that he didn't love her, she wouldn't let him go. That meant she would continue with her plan.

"Sorry, Naminé...but I _need_ Roxas," she muttered as she started her car, trying to convince herself that she wasn't sorry at all. "I need him more than you do."

 **XXX**

 **Edited: 1.22.16**

 **Now I'll be able to update faster! I'm through with my exams plus my SAT and I have plenty of free time. This story is only 25 chapters, so it will be ending soon. I will be going out with a bang. And not the Blind Marriage kind of bang. Something cute and explosive. I'll be back in two days.**


	19. Back Then (Part 1)

**This is a two part filler, but it'll be far from boring. All your questions will now be answered. Hopefully. It'll be just enough for you to get a general idea of what happened.**

 **Warning: May be triggering for some people.**

 **XXX**

 **19**

 _I am gonna be exactly what you gonna see_

 _So did you come to me to see your fantasies performed before your very eyes?_

 _A haunting ghostly treat_

 _The foolish trickery_

 _And spirits dancing in the light_

 _But if you came to see the truth the purity_

 _It's here inside a lonely heart_

 _So let the performance start_

 _Is that scary for you baby?_

"Roxas?"

The blond snatched away from the piano and shrieked. Yes, like a girl. He hated for other people to see him when he was messing around on the piano. That girl had a habit of pretending to go home just so she could listen to him sing. Weirdo. "What are you doing in here!?" he whined, stomping his foot like a child.

The brunette laughed as she slipped into the room with him. "I came to let you know that your friends pulled up outside. Are you gonna cover that?"

He shrugged and leaned against the piano, trying to ignore the fact that she wasn't even supposed to be there. Would people want to hear him cover Michael Jackson? If he didn't do the song justice, he was screwed. The media would be all over him, and not in the good way.

"I don't know...maybe. Should I?"

Olette nodded. "Your voice is amazing. You definitely should."

Things were slightly awkward after she had admitted her feelings for him a couple days prior. He didn't know what to do, what to say, or how to feel. He was two whole years older than her.

"H-How's the new song?" he asked, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

"It's um...good," she laughed nervously. "And your band?"

"Good. Though we're not...really getting as much publicity as I thought we would."

The brunette sat down on the piano bench. "I can help if you want. I've talked it through with my manager and he made this up." She pulled a small stack of papers- that were stapled on the side and folded once -out of the bag she was carrying.

"What's this?" Roxas asked as he took it from her and skimmed the first page. He listened to her explanation while doing so. All he heard was pretend boyfriend, contract, and famous worldwide. From that, he gathered that it was like a dating publicity stunt.

Olette was a nice girl. She had her moments, but she was never as horrible as his friend Hayner made her out to be. Plus...he did kind of have a tiny crush on her.

"I'll have my manager look at it," he decided.

"Why? You don't trust me? Look..." She pulled the small stack away and made room for him to sit. "Right here it basically says that you and I can pretend to be an item. If the media keeps seeing you with me, my publicity will rub off on you and eventually become your own. You won't be known as Olette's friend anymore."

He saw the Terms and Conditions title right below where she was pointing to. Beneath that was the subtitle Exit Clause. It only said _decision left up to DiCcirco's manager._

He briefly wondered what happened between her and his friends Hayner and Pence. They just stopped talking to her after a while. Pence made it obviously that he hated her with every fiber of his being while Hayner was just...sad.

Olette hadn't done anything to him. Yet. He trusted her.

"I would never try to screw you over, Roxy. I want what's best for you and your band."

Roxas nodded slowly, trying to ignore the fact that his heart was suddenly beating faster in his chest. Why was he so afraid of sitting this close to her?

"The other day," he started, "You said you loved me. I can't say that I feel the same way, but I do like you a lot. I'm thinking that we could try this and some day it could turn into that?"

Green eyes widened in surprise. "You're giving me a chance?"

"Yeah, I think so," he laughed.

Olette hugged him and squealed. "Thank you! I promise, you won't regret this!"

Back then, Roxas just knew he was making the right decision. What could've possibly gone wrong? "I'd better not," he joked as he hugged her back.

The excited star pulled a pen out of her bag. "Please?" she smiled as she pushed the pen towards him.

"Well...what kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't?" He scribbled his signature onto the dotted line and sat the pen down proudly. Something in the back of the his mind kept screaming that he'd done something terrible.

Who cared? It wasn't fair that she was famous and he wasn't. She was born into it, but he'd worked much harder for it. So he decided to deal with whatever consequences that would come with that signature.

XXX

 _I'd rather die than know that time flew by_

 _With the memories worth mentioning_

 _So help me sing, so help me sing_

 _For life, love, and remembering_

Everyone clapped and cheered as Dead Alive's newest music video faded to black. Roxas, Demyx, Axel, Terra, and Tifa proudly sat next to the large screen with smiles on their faces. Olette had kindly hosted a party in honor of the band. They were starting to get a lot of attention now and she was really happy for them.

As Zexion spoke his praise for them into the mic, she snuck up to the front and sat sideways on Roxas' lap. He wrapped his arms around her waist and gently kissed her cheek. "Thanks baby. You really didn't have to do all _this_ for us."

"I did! I want you to know that I'm proud of you guys."

She sat there comfortably for the remainder of the party until two reporters walked in. They were the two that Olette often paid to take pictures of her. Tonight was the time for Roxas to share the lime light with her.

Demyx looked to Olette, since they were the best of friends back then. "Your boys are here. Go give them the backstage passes."

"Kay. Be back in a second. Stay sexy, you!" she whispered.

"Always!"

Olette quietly jogged down the stairs in her six inch red heels and smoothed her black dress as she walked towards the reporters. "Reno, Rufus! You're late, you know!"

"Our bad, yo. The boss had some last minute changes for us. We wanna ask Dead Alive some questions for this article that Ruffie here's writin'."

" _Ruffie?_ " the larger man hissed in question. He obviously wasn't happy about the nickname.

Olette ignored it, glancing back at the boys. And Tifa. "The article's about Dead Alive?" That was weird. It was supposed to be about her with them included. Not just about _them_.

Rufus shrugged. "Actually just Roxas and Demyx."

"...Oh. Well, I think I can get you a couple pictures with me and them," she smiled politely.

The two shared a knowing look. "That'd be great!" Reno chuckled. " _Or_...we can get a picture with just Roxas and Demyx. Boss says you're kind of um...er..."

"Old," Rufus blurted.

Old? She was two years younger than him. How could she have been old? Unless they meant she was old news...compared to Roxas and his band.

The brunette frowned. "Sorry. I just forgot, Roxas and Demyx can't take any pictures or answer any questions. They're actually very busy after the party is over."

The two men sighed. "Shit. Well thanks anyway for the opportunity. Call us when they have free time."

"Sure will," she lied as she made her way back to her pretend boyfriend.

Demyx looked confused when she returned alone. "What happened? Are they coming up here?"

Olette feigned annoyance. "No. They came all the way here to tell me that they needed to get a story from a better band elsewhere. Can you believe that?"

Roxas smiled, trying to stay positive. It wasn't the time to start doubting himself after making it so far. He just had to accept the fact that he wasn't as important as the other band. "Oh well. We'll get other opportunities. Let's just enjoy the rest of the party," he smiled.

Inside, Olette was fuming at the idea of not being able to get her picture taken with him. She was famous before him so why couldn't she be included?

But outside, she just kept on smiling. "That's a great way to look at it, Roxy. Your band is awesome."

She could say it all she wanted to, but he didn't feel it anymore. He felt like shit.

XXX

Roxas slid into the house that he and Olette shared at this point. He deemed in pointless to stay in two separate houses, so they picked one out together and moved in as soon as they could.

The party after the band's latest interview lasted longer than he expected it to, but it wasn't that late. It was somewhere around ten.

The kitchen light was on, meaning Olette was still up. He hid the small bouquet of roses behind his back and crept towards the kitchen. "Lette?"

"What?" she snapped. She was writing something down on a sheet of paper and didn't bother to look up.

Roxas grimaced as he walked towards her. "I know it's kinda late and I didn't call you. I was really busy with the band and-"

"You're always busy with the band. What about _me_ , Roxas?"

What was her problem? Did she forget that they weren't in an actual relationship? Then again, she did have actual feelings for him. "I-I'm sorry. I brought you these as a peace offering. Please don't kill me," he joked.

Olette looked at him out of the corner of her eye and saw the roses. Her face lit up as she turned to him. "You got me flowers?"

The blond nodded proudly. "It'll be your birthday in two hours. I figured I'd start early with the presents. Part one," he extended the bouquet towards her.

She had already started to forgive him. It was cliche, but roses were her favorite kind of flower. "Thanks Roxy. This is really sweet of you."

He hugged her and smiled. His career was finally getting off of the ground and his fake girlfriend was so understanding. Everything was perfect for him.

"What were you doing with the band anyway?" she asked.

"Oh we had an interview. After the interview was kind of like an after party-"

Olette snatched away from him and frowned. Roxas went to another interview without her? She didn't mind him being famous, but what about _her?_ She hadn't had an interview in three months, but he's had four in two weeks.

She refused to be old news. She was still relevant.

"Olette? Hey..." Roxas passed his hand in front of her face a couple times. She seemed dazed. "Anybody home?"

When she came out of her thoughts, she was pissed. She threw the roses at his chest and roughly brushed past him. "Leave me alone, Roxas."

He blinked in confusion, then followed behind her. "Wait! What did I do!?"

She whipped around to face him with a harsh glare. She was a couple steps away from him on the stair case, but it felt like they were miles apart. "Leave. Me. _Alone_."

Roxas opened his mouth to speak, but he couldn't. He was stunned and confused. What did he do wrong? He was willing to fix whatever it was that he did to upset her.

Olette ran up the stairs and into the spare bedroom. Maybe... _maybe_ he just needed to give her some space? She was probably on her period or something.

He got a call the next second. Looking back, it was almost as if someone planned it. It was one of the guys he met a couple weeks ago at a party.

"Seifer?" he answered. There was loud music blasting in the background, making it hard to hear him. "Bro, I can't hear anything you're saying."

He heard something else from him, but couldn't make out what it was. The music gradually got softer. "My bad. Dude, there's this sick party further down the street from where we just came from. You in or out?"

"Out. Olette's already mad at me for God knows what. I don't need to give her an actual reason."

"Come on! Don't be a pussy all your life! Women get mad simply because they have _vaginas_. Tell her to grow a dick and get the fuck over it. You need to be with your boys tonight."

Roxas looked upstairs, then at the front door. Would it be so bad if he went to the party? It wasn't like he was cheating on her. And she probably didn't even want to see him anyway.

 _Okay, Olette. This is me leaving you alone._

"In or out?" Seifer repeated in a sing-song voice. "You better say in because Rai's pulling up."

A loud horn blew outside. Roxas chuckled and rolled his eyes. "In, I guess."

"That's my boy! See you in a little bit, bro."

Roxas looked upstairs once more before walking towards the door. He'd just do something for Olette tomorrow, since it was her birthday.

The drive took about twenty minutes. Instead of going inside the house, he and Rai climbed the fence around the side to get into the backyard. Seifer waved them over to the table where he was sitting, lines of white powder sitting casually in front of him.

"You taking a line?" Seifer asked as Roxas sat down.

"A line of what...?"

He and Rai shared a look that screamed _newbie alert._ "It's crushed X. Works faster when it's crushed like this. Just hold one side of your nose and snort." He leaned down and demonstrated. Rai did one as well.

Roxas stared at it for a couple seconds. "Um...can I just have a beer?"

Seifer glared at him playfully. "You can have a beer after you do a line. This isn't even dangerous. It makes you feel great."

 _It's not like it's cocaine..._

"Don't be a pussy," Rai laughed.

"You guys are gonna stop calling me that!" he spat.

Seifer smirked. "Prove that you aren't one and we'll stop."

Feeling pressured, and a little intimidated, he copied Seifer's demonstration. Shortly after snorting the powder, his brain felt like it was on fire. "What the hell!?" he groaned as he grabbed his head in pain.

"It gets better bud," Rai assured him as he rubbed a trembling Roxas' back. "The more you do it, the less it hurts."

"Fuck outta here with that. Shit doesn't even hurt that bad."

"Do you have to swear so much?" Roxas groaned.

"Problem? Goddamn, it's just a word. Don't really mean nothing unless you 'bout to fight."

That...made a lot of sense somehow. His parents always told him not to swear- save for little words like hell and damn -but why? They were just words, like Seifer said. They didn't mean anything.

He sat up with a hand still over half of his face. The burning remained, but it was starting to feel good. "Can I do another one?" he asked.

"You do as much as you can take," Seifer grinned.

Roxas mirrored his lopsided grin as he snorted another. Rai and Seifer laughed as the pain filled pauses became shorter and shorter after each one. Soon, he was completely out of it.

"Hey Rox, can I tell you a secret?" Seifer smiled.

The blond stared up at the sky. The stars were moving all on their own and he thought they were pretty. "I don't know, _can_ you?"

"Okay first, you're an asshole when you're high," he laughed. "Second...you just did lines of _cocaine_. How do you feel?"

The word cocaine didn't even matter at the moment. He felt way too good to be worrying about what kind of drug he had in his system. He let a four letter swear slip from his lips for the first time, then laughed at it. "Like a star," he grinned.

XXX

A couple months after that, Dead Alive was invited to a party for going gold. It happened so fast and everyone on their team was so proud. Olette was allowed to tag along with them, which made her happy.

"Roxy, some guys are waving at you over there," Olette called.

Roxas looked, which made the rest of the band look as well. He smiled at the two familiar faces and waved them over.

Demyx raised an eyebrow, arm thrown casually around Olette's shoulders. "Who are they?"

"Friends of mine. The blond one is Seifer and the other one's Rai. He's not too bright, but he's still good company."

Demyx immediately disliked them both. They looked like they were high and Roxas didn't need to be hanging around people who got baked five minutes into the party.

He watched in slight jealousy as the three started talking about "the stuff" and how strong it was. No one else was paying attention to him, not even Olette. So he turned away as well, trying to ignore the conversation. Roxas would come to him if he needed help.

"Hey man, that's my drink! It's got extra stuff in it!" Rai complained.

Roxas rolled his eyes and drank half of the mystery substance he'd stolen from his taller companion. "See my face? This is me _not_ giving a fuck and not being sorry."

Seifer sniffed, pretending to be moved. "Our little cokehead is growing up! Next thing you know, he'll be off to college!"

"I'm already in college you ignorant dick. Stop calling me little," he spat.

"...I've never been more proud of you, man. Come get your shit."

Demyx visibly deflated. He didn't know what was happening to his best friend, but he wished he would cut it out. What happened to the kid that wouldn't say _fuck_ to save his life? Now it just came out effortlessly.

He was guilty of doing the same, but he was older than him. He could do what he wanted to. Roxas couldn't.

"You're worried about Roxas, aren't you?" Olette asked.

Demyx nodded. "I mean, he just started junior year of college and he's already messing up. Would it make me a wuss if I said I was scared?"

"I don't think so. You two are really close now." I understand completely."

Demyx sighed and took his arm from around her. "I just wish he'd come talk to me."

"You can't babysit him, Dem. He has to learn on his own," she frowned. Even when he was doing wrong, he was still getting all the attention. Why?

If no one wanted to give her attention, she would _make_ them pay attention to her. "Best friend," Olette smiled. "You wanna get out of here and go play mini golf?"

Demyx laughed. "Who plays mini golf anymore!?"

"You do."

"I know," he mumbled. "Don't tell anyone that. I don't want them thinking I'm a nerd."

Olette smirked. "Yet you majored in math-"

"Shut up!" he whined. "Can we just go already!?"

So the two friends went to play mini golf, not really caring about how late it was. And if anyone needed to get in contact with them, they'd just call.

"How are things with you and Roxas?" Demyx asked as he hit the ball with the plastic club.

"Rocky," Olette shrugged. What else was she supposed to say? She was becoming old news and Roxas was on drugs. "And it's all his fault."

That was a lie. It started with her and Roxas just fed off of her negative energy.

It wasn't necessarily her fault...right? She just didn't want to be forgotten. Who cares if he tweaks out and dies? At least she'd be getting sympathy from her fans. That was a form of attention.

"He's really fucking up. But I can't be a helicopter friend. Like you said, this is a lesson he needs to learn on his own. If it gets too serious, I'll step in and try to stop it. He's probably talking to Axel or whatever. They're best friends, after all."

She nodded, though she wasn't really paying attention to him. There had to be a way to get back at Roxas for acting this way, for pushing her aside. Second place wasn't for her.

 _I deserve to be number one. I deserve to have everything I want._

"Demyx?"

"Yes?" he asked as he twirled the club absentmindedly.

"I deserve to be treated better, don't I?"

Unaware that he was about to say the wrong thing, he smiled and nodded. "You should be treated like a queen. Anyone who doesn't treat you like that is shit."

A small smile graced her lips as she looked down at the grass and pondered the word queen. It didn't feel quite right.

"No...you should be treated like a goddess," Demyx added.

There. That was perfect.

XXX

Around the time Roxas hired his first professional maid, he was in his senior year of college. He was 21 at this time. His maid's name was Yuffie. She did her job well and talked to him when he'd stress out about school.

He was forced to calm down on the drugs after Seifer tweaked out for the last time. The paramedics found him dead on top of a pool table, frothing at the mouth. His buddy was gone and so was his drug connection. Every now and again he'd do a little, but not nearly as much as he used to. That was what Yuffie was for, but no one knew that. Her job was to clean the house and keep him in line.

Withdrawals were a bitch to put up with, though. That's when Yuffie would come in and give him just enough to keep his head out of the toilet bowl.

"Mr. Jones?" Yuffie called as she knocked on the door. Roxas winced from the loud echo and rubbed his head. Migraines were also a bitch.

"Come in," he called as he buried his face into the cool pillow.

The short woman eased into the room and pushed the door shut. "How are you feeling?" she asked with a sympathetic smile.

"Better," he answered honestly. "I'm sorry you have to see me like this so often."

Yuffie sat on the bed beside him and gently massaged his scalp. It was like she knew exactly where it hurt. "This is nothing. I've seen much worse."

He leaned into her touch and sighed. "Still. I feel like we've crossed some kind of line."

"Not _yet_ ," she grinned, making Roxas laugh.

"Hinting at something, are we?" he smirked.

"Possibly." She let her hands slide down to the middle of his back, then back up to massage his shoulders. "You've been stressing?"

"Mm-hm..."

"School related or no?"

"Band related. Sort of. Demyx is barely talking to me now, but I know he wants to. Why doesn't he just come to me?"

Yuffie smirked knowingly. "You're both waiting for the other to start talking. Grow a pair and apologize for how you've treated him. I'm sure he'll forgive you right away."

Roxas knew she was probably right. Demyx still considered him his brother, so he probably wasn't even mad at him for ignoring him and throwing veiled insults his way.

When he sat up, Yuffie removed her hands and placed them in her lap. His migraine was fading and he felt a few pounds lighter. "Thanks Yuffie."

She smiled brightly. "Anytime, Sir. I'm here to do whatever you need me to."

"You don't have to call me _Sir,_ " he chuckled. Being called that made him feel odd, but in a good way. It made him look at her in a way that he hadn't looked at Olette in a long time.

Yuffie grinned. "It's professional, though."

"You mispronounced kinky."

The two of them laughed, not realizing that they were moving closer to one another. When Roxas noticed, he quickly looked away. "I think I know where this is going...and I can't do this."

"You can do anything you want. You're Jo, after all."

"But Olette-"

"Who gives a fuck about her!?" she blurted. "Stop defending her all the time! That dumb bitch embarrassed you on live television three times! She doesn't care about you like I do!"

Roxas' eyes widened as Yuffie slapped a hand over her mouth. "Sorry. I'm so sorry," she mumbled as she tried to leave.

"Yuffie, wait," he called as he grabbed her wrist. "You're right. She doesn't really care about me so...so why should I care about her?"

As he thought about his own question, he started to get angry. Olette had thrown things at him, cussed him out, slapped him, and called him out of his name for no apparent reason. And the more she did it, the less the apologized for it.

Worst of all, she told the entire world that he was addicted to sex during that talkshow interview. That was a lie. He'd only had sex like...three times, as pathetic as that was. How could he be addicted? Why the hell would she do that to him?

 _I'll show her who's addicted to sex._

He then smiled down at Yuffie. "I _don't_ care about her. You, on the other hand..." He kissed her softly, wrapping his arms around her small waist. "You're always there for me when I need you."

 _Revenge is gonna feel great,_ he thought as he laid her down on his bed.

On the other side of town, Olette was watching a movie with Demyx at his house. Demyx seemed to be the only one that understood her and she was happy for his company. That and she'd figured out the perfect way to get back at Roxas.

"Demy?" she called, hoping he wasn't asleep beside her.

"Mm?" he answered sleepily.

Half asleep would work for her. "Remember when you said you'd do anything for me?" she whispered as she kissed the side of his neck.

Demyx, who wasn't completely there at the moment, smirked and leaned to the other side. It didn't register that it was Olette and not the blue haired someone he was thinking about. "Mm-hm..."

She didn't say anything else after that. Her plan was working and she didn't even have to try that hard.

Until Demyx woke all the way up and saw exactly what he was doing. "Olette!? The fuck!?" he yelled as he pushed her away a little too hard. It wasn't his intention to push her on the floor.

"Jesus, Demyx. No might have been sufficient," she groaned.

"I'm so sorry! I just-! What the hell were you trying to do!?"

Olette stood, rubbing the side of her head. "I don't know. You said you'd do anything for me."

"Within reason, _crazy!_ You're my best friend's girl! I'm not gonna do that to him!" He ran a shaky hand through his hair as he stood. "I'm gonna head home."

"Demyx wait! Could you please-!?"

"Please what!? Fuck you!?" he roared. "I'm not doing that! What the fuck do you take me for!?"

Olette started to panic when she realized that he was really starting to leave. "You're not going to tell Roxas are you?"

"Of course I am. Bros before hoes. N-Not that you're a hoe! You just have hoe-ish tendencies," he shrugged apologetically.

"Look, I'm sorry. _Please_ don't tell him..!"

"Sorry. I'm not gonna let this type of guilt hang over my head forever. He needs to know what you did. Or tried to do."

Now furious, she stomped over to him and stood in front of the door. "You wanna be that way? Fine. If you don't do exactly what I tell you, I'll tell everyone about _Aqua_."

Demyx's body went rigid. "You can't. You swore to me that you wouldn't tell anyone."

"And I won't. _If_ you do what I say," she smirked.

Demyx had been recently involved with a girl named Aqua. He loved her and she loved him, but she was only sixteen. He was two years out of college and he was fully aware of how old she was when he pursued her. They decided to let each other go before anyone found out...and he stupidly trusted Olette with that secret.

Blue green eyes went up in almost visible flames as their owner took a step back. "What happened to you?

"I'm sick of not getting what I want. That's recognition and revenge. Do this for me and I'll keep my mouth shut."

Nothing would ever be the same if he allowed himself to sleep with her. The bond they created over the years was about to be shattered and she didn't even care.

He looked down at the floor in defeat. "Roxas will _never_ hear of this. Do you understand me?"

"Of course he won't. If he knows, your secret gets out."

That was the day that Demyx stopped being her best friend and started being her secret sex slave. "This is the first and last time."

"It isn't and you know that," she smiled.

 _Sorry, Rox. If I go to prison, who's gonna watch over you like I've been doing?_

"Come here Dem. I don't bite much..."

 _I won't let Axel steal that bond back. I'm sorry._

XXX

After Roxas had gotten comfortable with his new routine with Yuffie, he genuinely stopped caring about Olette. He couldn't break up with her, so she would just have to break up with him. All there was left to do was wait patiently for her to do so.

Getting comfortable with Yuffie meant more than being friends. Whenever he was freaking out from withdrawal, they wound up having sex. His addiction to drugs slowly faded and the urge to be with someone replaced it. And he always felt much better after.

Did he actually become addicted to sex? Probably.

The two of them were home alone and messing around like they usually did. But instead of doing it to replace his urge to use, he did it because he couldn't help it. Yuffie was attractive and he refused to ignore how it made him feel.

"When was the last time we did this?" Yuffie laughed softly as she looked at the roof of Roxas' new man cave. There was dried chocolate all over their stomachs and chests. Both were panting like they'd run a marathon and currently laying on the floor, naked and shameless.

It took Roxas a while to answer. He didn't really know. That meant it had been too long. "Who knows. Fun though, wasn't it?"

"Fun? My fucking back hurts..."

"I told you the wall would hurt, but _no_. Roxas doesn't know what he's talking about. He's just a dumbass," he feigned hurt.

Yuffie rolled her eyes. "He is a dumbass...but he's a cute one."

"So cute that he gets a round three?" he asked hopefully.

"I already told you, Jo can have whatever Jo _wants_ ," she purred as she crawled forward and kissed him. Having someone submit to him wasn't fun all the time, but it definitely was most of the time.

The door to his man cave opened, catching the two off guard. Neither of them had heard the front door open. And as fate would have it, the one person they didn't want to see was standing in the doorway.

Roxas scrambled for his clothes and Yuffie did the same. "Before you start yelling, I can explain," he called as he pulled his boxers up.

"Can you _really_ Roxas? Go ahead! I'd love to hear this!"

He looked back and forth between both girls and shrugged. "Yuffie and I have been fucking for a couple months now and you didn't know it."

"...That's your explanation!?"

"Hey, I said I'd explain. I didn't say you'd like it..."

Olette turned to the maid and glared. "You're fired. Get the fuck out of my house."

"Wait, you can't fire her! She's my maid! I-I need her!" Roxas panicked. What was he supposed to do without Yuffie? She was the one that made the pain go away. Numbness was better than hurt and she made him feel...slightly better than numb.

Olette hadn't said anything else. It was clear that she wanted Yuffie out. Roxas shook his head and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "She stays. Yuffie's not going anywhere."

The brunette stepped forward. "Either you fire her and never speak to her again...or I'll make sure you never sell another album."

Now you're thinking she's a bitch, right? Wait for it.

"You're my boyfriend now. There's nothing pretend about this. You're with me whether you like it or not."

He walked forward and prepared himself to lie. "Olette I swear I'll _never_ touch her again. Just please let her stay. You don't understand. She's Jo's maid."

 _Wait_ for it...

"You don't understand. You think I care about you being Jo? Jo is just a stupid alter ego you have. Beneath all that fake confidence is a fucking idiotic cokehead with no self esteem, no common sense, and no real friends. I've tried to be nice about it but the truth has to come out. You. Ain't. _Shit_. Get that through your thick skull and get her out of my fucking house."

There it is!

Roxas couldn't think of anything else to say. Everything she said was...true. He needed her help to get his career off the ground, meaning he wasn't talented enough to do it on his own. Jo was only an alter ego; Roxas was never confident about himself. If he had any comon sense at all, he wouldn't have gotten hooked on cocaine or wouldn't have associated with people like Seifer.

Jo was everything. Roxas was nothing.

Yuffie tried talking to him, but he didn't want to hear it. "I'm sorry, Yuffie. I'm gonna have to let you go." He walked past the both of them and slammed the door behind him.

Wordlessly, he locked himself in the upstairs guest room and sat on the floor. Coping with the realization that he was only kidding himself wasn't easy. Seifer wasn't around to tell him that she was just a jealous slut and Demyx had been avoiding him as of late.

Without Yuffie, everything would go back to the way it was. The urge to use would start back up and he'd be all alone. It felt like there was some kind of anxiety-filled bubble in his chest that was making it difficult to breathe. He couldn't explain it, but it started happening around the time he hit freshman year of college.

 _I feel like I'm fucking crazy_ , he thought as his fingernails scratched at his left wrist methodically, leading to the start of a very dangerous habit. As the pain in his wrist increased, the balloon in his chest that felt like it was going to explode slowly deflated.

The relief he felt was kind of like the high he got from the cocaine. He figured this was a less dangerous alternative because unlike with drugs, he'd know when to stop.

He looked down at his bloody fingernails and sighed. It wasn't happiness, but it wasn't overwhelming anxiety either.

Then he felt guilty. Demyx would curl up into a ball and die if he knew that Roxas had to hurt himself to feel better. He knew a cutter back in school and she died from it.

Roxas wouldn't die though. He wasn't like Demyx's other friend. "I know when to stop," he whispered as he looked around for a sharp object. "My body will tell me when it's had enough."

XXX

It had gone way to far and he knew it, but he was in too deep to just quit.

Roxas had gotten another maid after making sure it was okay with Olette. They had been arguing more and more and it was causing him to cut more often than not. He started wearing his arm band on his left wrist to hide it.

His wrist was like his emotional punching bag. He had sex with the new maid too often to cut anywhere else. The only place he could hide it was his wrist.

Larxene, the maid, wasn't at all like Yuffie. She kept him occupied, but she couldn't distract him from the internal pain he felt. And instead of Demyx avoiding him, he had been avoiding Demyx.

As the tiny razor split his skin open, he was startled by a knock on the bathroom door. He jumped and cut deeper than he'd intended to.

"Roxas? Bitchy McCrayCray said you were in here."

His entire arm trembled as blood started to spew all over the floor. Demyx couldn't be outside the door _now_. "Give me a minute!" he called as he grabbed a towel and wrapped it around the wound. It quickly soaked the towel, scaring the shit out of him.

 _What the fuck am I gonna do!?_

Tears ran down his face as he pressed down on the wound. Fear and hopelessness didn't mix well. He didn't have any other choice. "Demyx! I-I need help!"

The door instantly slammed open. Out of all the things he expected to see, he did expect to see a sobbing Roxas in the corner of the bathroom with a bloody towel on his arm. "Help," he sniffed. "Dem please help me..."

Now I know what you're thinking. Roxas told Naminé he almost bled out in front of his _maid_. Wrong. He only told her that so she didn't go asking Demyx questions.

Yes, he lied. He does that a lot.

He ran to him and pried his wrist away from his chest. "I got you," he said as he put more pressure on the wound. He didn't know what happened or why, but he knew that it was time to step in. No more waiting for Roxas to come to him.

His eyes locked on the razor a couple feet away and he sighed. "You idiot. Why didn't you let me help?"

"I'm sorry..."

"Axel's gonna be pissed-"

"Don't tell him! P-Please don't tell him. I don't want anyone t-to know I sank this l-low," he cried.

They didn't know it yet, but Demyx was about to become Roxas' main lifeline. From then on, he would be the one Roxas put above everyone else; he would be the one that Roxas trusted with everything.

Roxas and Axel might have been close friends before, but Demyx just unknowingly became the most important person in his life.

"We need to get you to a hospital," Demyx whispered. "I'll cover for you with everyone."

All because he saved it.

 **XXX**

 **Songs!**

 **Is It Scary: Michael Jackson**

 **Hourglass: Empty My Lungs**

 **Ughhhhhh this was so long! Gosh, I wanted to quit halfway through. It wasn't really that long, but I'm just exhausted.**

 **I purposely didn't show anything with Aqua and Demyx because I got tired. Plus, I don't really ship that as a pairing. Why the hell did I write it? I ran out of characters and Demyx always winds up gay in my stories O.O We need a straight Demyx sometimes.**


	20. Back Then (Part 2)

**Hopefully this explains a little more about present Roxas' behavior. Here's part 2!**

 **XXX**

 **20**

Let's talk about Vanitas for a second. Three years ago, while on a business trip with his dad, he had gone to a bar. His father kept hounding him about getting all his projects done and he just couldn't take it anymore. He just wanted to relax.

He went to a bar that a family friend owned. No, he wasn't old enough to drink, but he did it anyway. The bartender trusted him for whatever reason and he was extremely thankful for that.

Not long after his fifth or sixth drink, someone sat down beside him. "You really plan on drinking all of those or is that just for show?"

He didn't even look up at the woman speaking to him. More than half of the glasses he had in front of him were full. "Nah, I plan on drinking each and every one of them. I need to be out of my mind for a little while."

The words _out of my mind_ made the woman smirk, but he didn't see that. "Okay, then. I'm...um...Casey."

Vanitas gulped down the rest of the drink in his hand, then picked up another one. "Vanitas."

"What's got you all messed up? Why are you trying to kill your kidneys?" she laughed.

"Stress. If you don't mind, can we talk about you? I'm not really a fan of unloading my personal problems onto strangers."

As much as she would have loved to sit there and talk about herself, she couldn't. Casey wasn't _Casey_ ; she was Olette with a black wig. And she wasn't prepared to come up with a whole fake backstory.

"Actually, I came over here to talk about...anything else. I need to get my mind off of myself too."

So the two talked. Their conversation consisted of harmless flirting and lightheaded jokes. All too soon, Vanitas had gotten to the point where he knew he couldn't drive himself home. It didn't exactly feel like a normal drunken haze. Everything was blurry and appeared to him in slow motion.

"Hey Case, I don't feel so hot," he slurred.

Olette smiled. "Good. Come with me."

Vanitas blinked rapidly and tried to steady himself as Olette dragged him along by his sleeve. It was all too easy for her to drug someone without their knowledge of it. Poor guy didn't even see it coming.

Later, he would believe it was all his fault.

XXX

"Does she do that often?"

Having a maid again felt good. Having Larxene specifically was a daily challenge. She loved Jo and his music, but she wasn't your typical fangirl. It was a constant game of cat and mouse with her; she was a mouse one day and a cat the next.

Larxene did not submit easily, but he liked that.

Roxas hummed and ran a hand through his hair. She was asking if Olette usually hung all over her maids like she'd been doing to her for the past few weeks. He found it odd as well, but at least Olette was being somewhat cool about it.

"I don't know anything anymore. I just wanna stay here with you right now."

The two were laying on his bed, tired from their last escapade. They were used to their current arrangement: wait until Olette leaves, mess around, fix themselves before she found out.

"What am I to you?" he asked suddenly.

The blonde maid smirked. "Stress relief. Vice versa?"

"Food," he winked.

Instead of continuing their little game, they laughed. Roxas and Larxene weren't an item, they weren't secretly dating, and they weren't serious about each other. Everything that went on between them was just casual.

"You know what I noticed?" Larxene asked.

"Hm?"

"You back out way too easily. You don't have any fight in you."

What was that supposed to mean? "I'm a little confused."

She rolled her eyes, but the smirk never left her face. "I mean during sex. Not to say that it isn't amazing, but you always decide to "try again later" when I say I don't want it."

Well what was he supposed to do? Take her by force? "That's the respectful thing to do. Right?"

"It is, but that's _boring_. I don't want you to go around raping people in the future. I'm just saying if you want it, make her want it too. You can tell when she wants it because it'll show in her eyes."

He nodded, taking note of everything she said. No doubt it'd be useful later in life. But how was he supposed to make a girl like Larxene want him? She put the _sav_ in _savage_. Roxas was still a bit of a wimp at that time.

"You have the right attitude," Larxene laughed and she reached for her pants to get something. He watched as she lit a cigarette and took a drag from it. "You just need to back it up with actions."

Roxas wasn't proud of who he was. Almost every day, he woke up wishing he were someone else _somewhere_ else. Sex- or the rush he got from it, rather -was the only thing that made living worthwhile.

"I'm trying," he said honestly.

She looked at him. Something playful was dancing around in her deep green eyes. "I'm sure you'll get there. Everyone needs a reason to change and I don't think you have one yet."

That got him thinking again. He was so deep in thought that he didn't notice Larxene lay her head on his chest. She knew that he wasn't paying attention. "Did your other maid fall for you as fast as I did?"

There was a few seconds of silence before he snapped out of it. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Nothing important," she mumbled.

XXX

"Larxene! Could you come here please!?"

The blonde maid eased into the kitchen. Olette had avoided both her and Roxas after she caught them together for the second time. They were more than surprised when she calmly walked away without a single word.

"Yes Ms. DiCcirco?" she spoke politely. Roxas warned her to act that way because he knew how crazy she was. Honestly, she didn't think Olette had the balls to do anything to her.

Olette was cutting up food. Larxene immediately knew that something was wrong because she was supposed to be cooking. What was the point of having a maid if the maid didn't cook?

"You remember what I said about Roxas being off limits, right? Why in the world would you sleep with him after hearing me say that?"

Larxene looked down, hating how powerless she felt in front of such a short girl. "I couldn't help myself. It was a mistake and I...apologize," she forced out bitterly.

The knife moved faster as she smirked. "A mistake. We all make mistakes, so I could understand that. What I don't understand is how you could make the same mistake twice. Or however many times before that."

"Well I-"

"You should've stopped after the first time. I might have forgiven you if you had," she laughed.

Roxas walked inside the house whistling, Demyx trailed in behind him. He didn't notice the nasty glare Demyx sent in the brunette's direction.

They had just gotten back from practicing with the rest of the band and Roxas felt better than he had in weeks. Even when he didn't, Demyx was constantly around to make sure he couldn't get a hold of any sharp objects.

When Roxas saw Larxene in the kitchen with Olette, he stopped whistling. "Hey girls," he tried to smile.

"Hi Roxy! You're just in time for the show!"

"Show? What are you-?"

Before anyone could do anything, the drew back and sliced at Larxene's face. The skin split from the top of her cheek, across her lips, an on her chin on the opposite side.

While Roxas attempted to catch Larxene before she fell, Demyx wrapped his hand around the brunette's throat and shoved her against the closest wall. She struggled to breathe, watching his expressionless face as he continued to choke her.

Roxas cradled his maid's head against his chest, unsure of what else to do. The gash was too deep and he didn't know what to do. "Larxene, I'm so sorry! I didn't know she was going to do this! Fuck, Demyx _help me!_ "

Demyx didn't move. He was enjoying all the different colors she was turning. "If I go to prison for this, I won't give a damn."

" ** _Demyx!_** "

The furious blond glared before he let go of her. "You're lucky I don't have it in me to kill anyone," he muttered.

"You'll regret that, Trapson. You know the only way to make up for it," she coughed. Her voice was almost covered by Roxas' hysterical screams. The two legitimately hated one another, but she'd admit that sex with Demyx was too good to let go of. And he wasn't dumb enough to deny her.

A small part of him died when he realized what she meant. That sinking feeling in his chest didn't last long because he quickly went into big brother mode and helped Roxas get Larxene into the car. They quickly drove her to the hospital. She was seen immediately, but neither Demyx nor Roxas were allowed to see her after she had gotten fixed up.

"What do you mean I can't see her?" Roxas growled as he stared the nurse down.

"Hospital rules. Patients here can only get family visits in the first twenty-four hours unless stated otherwise by the patient."

"That doesn't work for me. I need to see her now."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Jones-"

He threw everything off of the desk, drawing the attention of everyone in the lobby. "I don't want your fucking apology! What I want is to see my friend!" he roared.

The nurse didn't bother to be polite anymore. "If you're going to be a problem, you can get out."

"I will pay you any amount of money to get me in that room," he begged. "Please! Do you know what it's like to watch your best friend get cut by a psychotic demon that won't fucking leave you alone no matter how much you ignore it because it gets off on making people feel like shit!? Do you have ANY IDEA what that's _like!?_ "

"Security!"

"Don't fucking call security on me when you haven't answered my goddamn question! Get the fuck off of me! Let go!"

Roxas struggled against the two police officers as they dragged him out of the hospital. He kicked and screamed like a child throwing a tantrum, ignoring the fact that there were cameras flashing all around him.

It wasn't fair. All they had to do was let him see her. Even if he only got to see her for two seconds, he had to know that she was okay. It was all his fault in the first place.

Because his vision was blurred from aggravated tears, he didn't see when Demyx pulled him away from the officers. He made a break for the hospital doors, but a single pair of strong arms held him tight.

"Stop it, Roxas! We can just come and see her tomorrow!"

Roxas' struggling slowly died down. Now that he knew it was Demyx, he couldn't fight him. That was his brother.

He let Demyx lead him to the car, where he sat numbly. It would've been nice to feel something after everything that's happened. That burst of anger and adrenaline gave him a rush and he loved it.

"Remember our bro code?" Demyx asked. "Part of that code is stopping each other's meltdowns and making sure we don't do anything stupid. Will you let me help you?"

He nodded slowly. After that last cut, he was too afraid to resort back to the razor. That didn't stop the urges he got from time to time, though. So he allowed Demyx to help him.

"Then I will. When we go on this tour in a month, we'll completely reinvent ourselves. You won't be the same Roxas and I won't be the same Demyx. We won't ever look back on this, okay?"

That was exactly what Roxas needed. If he reinvented himself, he wouldn't get hurt as easily. He wouldn't cry so much and he'd be able to stand up to Olette sometimes.

Roxas wiped his eyes and looked up at the guy he called his brother. "I don't want to cry anymore, Dem. I just want to feel...something other that hurt."

The older one laughed. "Don't we all. I'm telling you, this tour will be great for us. You'll get time away from Olette and you'll become a whole new person. Your self confidence level is shit and I want to help you build it up."

Roxas stared at the road as Demyx started to drive off. It gave him time to think. His alter ego Jo seemed happy and confident all the time. If being shallow, self-absorbed, and an overall dick that was obsessed with his appearance meant being close to happiness, then he wouldn't mind being that person.

"Is it weird to want to be your alter ego?" Demyx blurted. "I mean...Trapson has it all. He's not necessarily a bad person. Just gives off that natural _I'm actually a flaming homo_ vibe."

Trapson was a loveable, goofy man that had a lot of girl friends. He didn't plan out his life like Demyx did. No, Trapson went with the flow and took life in stride. Demyx, on the other hand, hated being alive.

"I don't think so. In fact, I...I want to become Jo. I don't want to feel like I'm two different people anymore."

Demyx smiled sadly. "Me either."

And that's how everything between Roxas and Naminé started. He would get on the tour bus as Roxas Johannes, but come back as the infamous Jo.

XXX

Roxas stared at the tour bus with a slightly heavy heart. He kept telling himself that everything would change, but he didn't quite know if he believed that or not.

He tilted his head down and forced a smile. The brunette that had caused him so much trouble was now in tears because he was leaving. He didn't quite understand why. Probably because she couldn't go with him.

"Roxy, I want you to know that I'm really sorry about Larxene. I was just upset and I didn't know what I was doing. I don't want to lose you."

He stared at his shoes, trying and failing to forget what happened that day. "It's okay. I forgive you."

 _That bitch is trying to ruin you_ , a familiar voice echoed in his head. It sounded a lot like himself, but was different somehow.

She hugged him, yet his arms stayed at his sides. "I'm going to be so much better when you come back. I promise. As long as you promise not to hurt me like that again."

 _Hurt you? What about Larxene's fucking face you self-centered bitch!?_

"Promise."

He didn't know if he meant it or not. All he knew was that Olette was serious about him. That contract was going to make sure that she was the only woman he could be with for the rest of his life.

"Thanks Roxy. I love you so much."

 _Don't you dare say it back._

"I know," he whispered as he walked past her. She said something else but he didn't look back. Jo didn't want to hear it. "But I hate you," he muttered as he climbed the steps of the bus. Too bad Olette didn't hear that.

XXX

It was a January, no, February morning when Roxas got back from that life changing tour. He was less than excited to be back, since he now had to deal with Olette again. It wasn't enough to bother him while he was on tour; she had to call him and bother him in between shows too.

So he decided to take the long way home. And by the long way, I mean he wanted to drive around town until it got dark.

The tour was great. He and Demyx really had reinvented themselves. He had become playfully arrogant while Demyx had become...well...gay.

No, he wasn't _actually_ gay. He just acted like it from time to time. Any girl that he didn't sleep with became his "bestie" and he would switch from masculine man to gossip girl as soon as he saw them.

Roxas' sex appeal shot through the roof during the tour. He realized that he could wink at a girl and make her faint, so he used that to his advantage. It didn't really help that he was legitimately addicted to sex at this point, but Demyx and the rest of the guys kept him in line and out of everyone's pants.

Although Tifa got it several times between shows...

He liked to believe it was fate, but for some reason, that little café- Liquid Life -kept catching his eye. It had been a while since he sat down and had a nice meal that didn't consist of fast food, gum, sunflower seeds, cold pizza, or hot beer.

 _Coffee. Coffee and bacon would be nice._

Roxas threw his hood and shades on, then parked his car in the lot. The first thing he noticed was an angry blonde yelling at her friend. The friend didn't seem the least bit fazed by it. In fact, he looked amused.

Slowly, he slid out of the car and pretended not to notice them while he went through his phone and listened to the conversation.

 _Text from Olette, text from Olette, text from Olette, text from...mom!_ He tried to reply, but quickly got distracted by the blonde a couple feet away.

"It's not that simple, Reggie! I nearly got _fired!_ Call that son of a bitch off before I beat his ass and get fired for real!" she spat.

The guy he now knew as Reggie shrugged and laughed. "No ma'am. If he were anyone else you know I would, but it's my boyfriend. I couldn't tame that beast if I tried. Bae does what bae wants and I can't do anything about that."

" _Bae_ is gonna get burned with some fucking hot coffee if he continues to fuck with me. Tch, sexual harassment. As if anyone would ever want to sexually harass his ass."

"I would. He's huge," Reggie smiled as he bit his lip. At that point, Roxas wasn't sure if he was talking about the guy's physical build or not.

"And I will beat his huge ass into the ground. I grew up around people who loved to fight. I'm not about to let some no life dick from Twilight Town punk me out just because he's bigger than me!"

"Hey, easy on Twilight Town, now. Sun City for life!" he smirked as he held up the Twilight Town hand sign. It looked like he was making a C with both hands.

"Sun starts with an S, so why the fuck are you holding up a C? And Des I for life! Fuck you and your dumb ass city you dumb cunt!" she spat as she threw the front door open and stormed inside.

That was the first time he saw Naminé, when she was pissed and ready to cut someone's dick off. Roxas hummed in approval and quickly walked into the café.

When he sat down, the same girl came to take his order. She was all smiles and was being as polite as she possibly could have been. "What can I get you, Sir?"

He couldn't help it. He burst into laughter before he could even think about what he wanted to say to her. "A-Are you okay? I'm a little scared."

She seemed confused at first, then facepalmed and lowered her head. "I am so sorry about that. I didn't mean for you to hear me. My coworker's an idiot and I got a little upset. You're not in any danger, I swear."

He smiled and shook his head. "You are a sexy beast. I'm gonna love you now. Is that okay..." His eyes caught her nametag, along with the accent over the e. "Naminé?"

Naminé squealed a little bit. "You're the first person ever to get it right! You don't know how many times I've been called Nay-meen."

"The e clearly has an accent," he shrugged.

"...You're a wonderful person," she fake cried.

 _Definitely interested_ , he thought.

"Okay, okay. All jokes aside, what would you like to order." She took the pencil from behind her ear and flipped her notepad open.

Roxas' eyes lit up under the shades. Now that he was paying attention to her face, he could see how beautiful she was. Her hair was pulled back into a small bun with a single curly strand hanging on the right side of her face. Though it was freezing outside, she had on a baby blue skirt and a matching short sleeve uniform top that was buttoned up far enough to cover the tops of her breasts.

"Are you in a C cup?" he blurted stupidly.

The friendly smile faded as she folded her arms defiantly. "Unless you wanna get slapped, you look up _here_." She pointed to her face with the eraser of her pencil with a frowned. "Now what do you want?"

Roxas grimaced at the new attitude and held his hands up in defense. "Easy, crouching badass. A close friend of mine works with bras and I help her with the sizes and stuff more often than I'd actually like to. It was just an impulsive question, I apologize."

"Your order. Please," she sighed.

"Right. Let me get two cups of coffee, double expresso, not too light, not too dark, drop a strawberry in one of the cups and put another on the rim of the second cup, put whipped cream on the strawberry before you drop it in. Bring that cup to me after I've finished the second one first. Also, bacon. Exactly thirteen strips of chocolate covered bacon."

The blonde waitress blinked in astonishment. "Excuse me?"

"Would you like me to repeat that?"

"No, no, I got it. Your order is just...odd. I think that's how Jo drinks his coffees and eats his bacon. Maybe somebody else, perhaps...?" she mumbled quietly.

Roxas feigned ignorance, even though he was kind of happy that she knew that. "Jo? Who's he?"

"You don't know!? He's the lead singer of the band Dead Alive! I'm gonna have that man's babies someday."

His smile grew wider as he leaned his chin into his hand. "Have his babies?" he smirked. "Would you actually say that to him?"

"Pft, hell no. He might think I'm bat shit crazy and put a restraining order on me or something."

"Why would he put a restraining order on you, beautiful? I think he'd understand that it was a joke and probably wouldn't even care. I, for one, would love that kind of attention from just you."

Her cheeks flushed as she tried to look anywhere but at him. The flirting was going on longer than she expected it to. "From just me, huh?"

Roxas nodded in confirmation. "I'm interested," he stated bluntly.

She shook her head and laughed. "I'm not about to stand here and flirt with you all day."

"Then bring me my food and sit down. I do enjoy good looking company while I eat." He moved his glasses down so she could see him wink, but quickly pushed them back up so she couldn't get a good look at his eyes.

Shaking her head again, she flipped the notepad shut and walked off. Roxas smiled and gave her a wolf-whistle. "Looking good, baby!"

She refused to sit down with him when she brought his order out. From that day on, he pushed plans around and rescheduled a whole bunch of things just to visit the café once or twice a day. He was smitten from the very start.

XXX

"What can I get you?" a brunette haired barista asked with a smile.

Roxas smiled back. It had been two weeks and he still came to Liquid Life every day. He was a little upset when Naminé didn't come out to take his order. "Sorry, but only Naminé can take my order."

Her smile faltered. "She has the day off, I'm afraid. If you want, I can get you a discount on-"

"No thanks. I literally will not eat a thing from here unless she brings it to me. I won't even tell you what I want because I want Naminé."

"If you're not going to order, you'll have to leave."

Roxas shook his head. "Not an option."

After a bit of arguing, the barista called the manager. He was a man with a wide build and a terrifying frown. Still, it didn't faze Roxas one bit.

The blond manager took the toothpick he was chewing on out of his mouth and glared at Roxas. He had a five o'clock shadow, but it didn't look messy. The name tag on his shirt read Cid H. "Alright, where's the fire?" he asked lazily.

"He won't leave," the waitress complained.

"I said I'd leave when Naminé takes my order and serves me," Roxas shrugged.

Cid rolled his eyes. "She's off today. We worked 'er every day fer two weeks and she's about to go into overtime. Either ya order somethin', or ya leave."

With a frown, Roxas fished his wallet out of his pocket. "Here's what's going to happen. I'm going to give you this..." He pulled out five one hundred dollar bills and fanned himself with it. "And you're going to call Naminé in. She'll take my order, serve me, and I'll leave."

"Hold it, boy. Ya ain't gonna bribe me-"

Roxas tipped his hat back and pulled his shades down. "Or I can post a tweet saying how bad the service here is. You wouldn't want Ventus from THE Dead Alive to do that, would you?"

His eyes widened. "Shit...I didn't...fuck. I'll call 'er in right now."

"Good. Take this and keep your mouth shut about who I am, alright?" he winked.

"Right. Sorry fer the trouble."

The rock star waved it off. It was a good thing that he and Ventus looked so much alike. Hopefully, he could continue to use that to his advantage so Naminé would serve him every day.

XXX

Roxas strolled into the cafe once again. All he wanted was something to drink, but he'd drink it slow just to stay longer. His parents were supposed to be in town for his birthday, but their flight got canceled. Someone thought it was funny to call the airport and do a bomb threat, so they canceled all planes going into and out of Twilight Town until further notice.

His favorite barista came out with her notepad, ready to take his order. "What can I get you?" she asked.

He forced a smile and lowered his head a little. "Two mocha frappes, please."

"...That's it? No long, unnecessarily detailed order? Nothing extra?"

"Well, it'd be nice to have a little of you." His voice wasn't as cheery as it usually was. Something was wrong and she found herself caring more than she should have.

"Okay," she smirked. "Two frappes and me, coming right up."

When he looked up at her, she winked and disappeared behind the counter. What did that mean? Was she going to spit in his drink? If she did...eh, he'd probably still drink it.

It didn't take long for her to get his order. But when she brought it to him, he was more than a little confused. On the tray were two frappes, thirteen strips of fresh chocolate covered bacon, and a huge slice of strawberry cheesecake with a lit candle in it.

 _Wait a minute..._

"Happy Birthday," Naminé smiled as she sat down in the seat across from him. "You told me a couple weeks ago. Oh, and you only have to pay for one frappe. The rest will come out of my check."

A huge smile appeared on his face. That was one of the best birthday surprises he's ever had. It wasn't much, but it meant a lot. "Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to me."

"Hey, if no one else does anything for you, you can at least say your favorite waitress gave you free food," she laughed.

He raised an eyebrow playfully. "Oh, so you're my favorite?"

"Um, duh. I'm everyone's favorite everything," she joked.

Smirking, he sipped his frappe through the straw. He knew then that he wanted her to work for him. Her smile would be a lovely addition to his home, but how would he get her to stay?

"And what am I to you?" he asked.

Naminé tapped her chin, as if in deep thought. "You'd be my favorite dick."

Roxas slapped his hand over his mouth to keep from spitting his drink out. It took him a while, but he swallowed it. "You did not just say that," he laughed.

She facepalmed. "I realized that sounded much better in my head after I already said it. Let it go."

No way was he letting that go.

"My question is if I'm your favorite, who's your least favorite?"

Who would her least favorite be? "Probably Marluxia."

"The so-called business tycoon? Oh yeah, that guy's awful. He should stick to makeup," Roxas agreed with a laugh.

Naminé laughed and glanced out of the window. "Hey, how come you always hide your face?"

"Oh, because I have the face of a god and it makes people pass out."

"Cocky much?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Yeahhh," he grinned. "Either that, or I'm secretly the grim reaper and looking into people's eyes kills them. I haven't decided yet."

The barista snickered. "You mean you have a choice? Lucky..."

"I'd say so. I met you and that was pretty lucky."

Naminé blushed and averted her eyes. "Don't start flirting again."

"Start? Who said I ever stopped?" Roxas grinned.

The two of them talked and laughed for a while, but only about superficial things. If the conversation got too personal, she'd quickly change the subject. Naminé was glad she decided to sit down with him. He was actually pretty funny, and his laughter was infectious.

 _A contract_ , he decided. _The only way to keep something when you're famous is to seal a deal with a contract._

Roxas took another bite of his cake with a smile. "I meant to ask you this a long time ago, but are you married?"

She saw his eyes dart to the ring on her finger and shook her head in a panic. Remembering Vanitas now would just put a damper on their nice conversation. "No, of course not! It's just a ring. What about you? Girlfriend?"

"Nope," Roxas smirked, amused by the fact that Naminé had no idea what he was planning. All he had to do was come up with a way to get her to sign it.

And then the fun would begin.

XXX

Roxas' eyes slowly opened in the middle of the night. A couple inches away, he saw Naminé's sleeping face. He smiled as his heart started to race in the good way. He didn't feel numb anymore and it was all thanks to her.

"You give me such a rush," he mumbled as he closed his eyes again. For the first time since high school, he was actually happy. His smile wasn't forced or caused by temporary amusement and it felt great.

It was like...having Yuffie back with a dash of Larxene. Except he didn't use her like he used them. She actually meant more to him than the two of them combined.

 _I hate you_

 _That's an understatement_

 _I hate you_

 _For who you are!_

Roxas' eyes settled into a fierce glare the second they opened. She hadn't called at all since they left. Why was she calling now?

Wait, Olette hadn't called him...? She knew. She knew that they were messing around and they were both fucked beyond the point of paraplegia. Panicking , he quickly answered his phone and sat up. "Olette!" he feigned joy. "Shit, I'm glad you caught me now. I can't ever get a signal out here."

"I'm glad I caught you too, baby. I have news for you!"

Oh God. She was using that exact same sickeningly sweet tone that she had right before she cut Larxene. "I have someone that I think would be an absolutely perfect butler! I'm really excited for you and Naminé to meet him. She'll just fall in love!"

He sure hoped not. "A butler? Don't you think that's a bit much?"

"Not at all. A butler would be great for us. I figured since you're gonna be on your way home in about two hours, you'd want the heads up. See you in a little bit, honey!"

"Yeah...see you."

Fabulous. The last thing he needed to be reminded of was that Olette still existed, let alone that he'd be returning to her soon. All he wanted was a little more time with Naminé.

That seemed to be Olette's purpose in life, to suck up all chances of him having a normal, happy life. Maybe everything would be better if he wasn't famous. Then she couldn't hold that stupid contract over his head.

Is it worth giving up Dead Alive? I wouldn't want to disappoint the fans.

"Roxas?"

His troubling thoughts scattered as he turned to face Naminé. She rolled onto her back and looked up at him sleepily. "Did the alarm go off?" she asked in her scratchy morning voice.

"Not yet. Olette just called to tell me she got us a butler. That means you don't have to cook anymore," he smiled.

She nodded and threw her arm over her eyes. "Eh...tired."

"Go back to sleep. That's what I'm about to do."

"Can you...hold me?"

Roxas' eyebrows raised in shock. She never asked to be touched. In fact, she usually shy away from his touch. That's when he realized she was serious about not pushing him away anymore. "Yeah...yeah, of course I will."

Naminé laid down with her back to him. He wrapped his arms around her protectively and sighed happily. After all he'd been through, he deserved a happy ending. It was unclear if he would get it or not. He surely wouldn't if that diva had anything to do about it.

 **XXX**

 **Now I'll be going back to edit all my previous chapters. I'm a little worried about how my next chapter will seem. I have what I want, but I feel like it's not dramatic enough.**

 **Hopefully I'll get it fixed!**


	21. Winning and Losing

**21**

After all four of them got back into town, Roxas dropped Riku and Xion off first. From there, he and Naminé drove back to the mansion playing Michael Jackson songs. Though they knew they wouldn't be able to stay as close to each other, they decided to make the most of their last few minutes.

"Please don't do this," Naminé laughed as Roxas prepared for his favorite part of _Remember The Time._

"I have to," he giggled like a child.

"I'm begging you, don't!"

Ignoring her pleading, he started to scat along with the song. Why was this so embarrassing for Naminé? They were sitting between two other cars at a stoplight with all the windows rolled down.

Naminé buried her face into her hands, attempting to hide and stop her giggling. Who would've thought that Jo would be such a dork?

Roxas laughed along with her as the light turned green. "I'm really gonna miss this. God knows Olette would have a fit if she saw us laughing together."

Naminé sighed and wiped her tears. "True. But just because we're going back doesn't mean we can't be friends."

"Best friends," he corrected.

" _Super_ best friends."

"With super benefits!"

Naminé started to argue with that, but the benefits existed. They both knew that. "Sure, whatever."

Roxas grinned and grabbed her hand as the car pulled into the garage. "And I'm still gonna take you out on dates and stuff. We haven't really had any, so why not start?"

"Because Lucifer might castrate you," she smirked as she jerked a thumb towards the house.

He laughed again and unbuckled his seatbelt. "I see your point. Let's go meet this butler dude."

They walked from the garage to the front door, feeling less like a couple and more like friends. As much as it saddened Roxas, he opened the door and walked inside. "We're back!"

Olette immediately came rushing out of one of the rooms and nearly tackled him in a tight hug. "Roxy! I missed you so much!"

"Yeah, yeah. Get off, will you?"

She frowned, but quickly covered it with a smile. Everything would change in just a few moments. "Sorry. You must be tired and my hyperness isn't helping. I'm just really excited for you to meet our butler. Vanitas!"

Naminé swore her heart stopped. She watched the opening door carefully as someone stepped out. Golden brown eyes locked with her terrified blue ones as he walked up to the two blonds.

Roxas looked at her, turned to Olette, then to the dark haired man standing in front of a possibly catatonic Naminé. It wasn't a coincidence. It couldn't be. "You're... _the_ Vanitas."

"You know another Vanitas somewhere?" he snapped, glaring at the blond star. Roxas instantly disliked him because of his attitude. Who was he to get mouthy with him after only laying eyes on him for three seconds? He didn't do anything to him.

Olette smiled, chuckling a bit darkly. "I wasn't going to call him at first, but you made me, Roxas. You were never any good at sneaking around with your maids."

Vanitas took a step towards Naminé, but she stumbled back into Roxas. He instinctively grabbed her upper arms to keep her on her feet. "No. This isn't real...y-you died in that plane crash!" she screamed, holding onto her sleeve for dear life.

"No, I didn't. I was in a coma, and then I moved to Agrabah because my father practically forced me to. I met Olette a few years ago, but I had no idea she knew you until a few _days_ ago."

That meant that Olette knew who Vanitas was all along. None of this had to happen. She could've been with Vanitas and wouldn't have fallen in love with Roxas.

That may have been a bad thought, but she couldn't help but to think about it.

It was too late now. What, did Olette think bringing Vanitas back would make her run into his arms and forget all about Roxas? She and Vanitas had some great times together, but she couldn't and wouldn't leave Roxas. The way she felt about him meant more to her than the way she felt about Vanitas.

She was crying now because of anger and confusion, not relief. Right? She didn't technically care.

Okay, maybe she did care. In fact, she cared a hell of a lot more than she wanted to. Did she want to run back to him? Or did she want to stay with Roxas and let him comfort her as she sobbed quietly?

"Please tell me I'm not too late," Vanitas begged. "Tell me we still have a chance."

No. That's what she'd told Roxas before. But the way her heart raced told her otherwise. It was easy to answer a fake scenario and mean it if there was no possibility of it ever coming true, but it was different when the scenario became real.

"Hell no," Roxas spat as he wrapped his arms around her protectively. "How long have you been gone? If you wanted her, you wouldn't have waited until the last minute to come and find her."

"I didn't wait until the last minute. I thought she moved on and I didn't want to fuck up her emotions. But when Olette called me and told me you were forcing her to be your little sex slave, I came to save her. I won't let you treat her like that."

"As if I would ever make her feel like _anything_ less than the goddess she is! I love this woman! If you want her, you'll go through me!"

"Fine with me-!"

" _Stop!_ " Naminé screamed as she pulled herself out of Roxas' arms. She couldn't stop herself from crying, no matter how much she wanted to. "Stop it, Roxas..."

Roxas froze. Why was she telling _him_ to stop? Vanitas was the one causing the problem. "But Naminé-"

"I said stop it! You too, Vanitas! I just...I want both of you to stop."

Her entire world felt like it was crashing down right in front of her. She didn't want Roxas to hurt Vanitas, but she also didn't want him to hurt Roxas. Her head was now pounding and she didn't know who to be mad at or for what.

All the confusion and hurt turned into anger when she realized Olette was still in the room. That was the person she needed to be angry with. She turned to the smirking diva, with a glare. "I trusted you. Roxas warned me not to, but I wanted to believe that you weren't the heartless bitch that everyone said you were. It's clear now that you are."

The smirk on her face slipped away. It wasn't a frown or a glare, though. Nobody knew what it was. "You wanna talk about _trust?_ How do you think it feels to find out my maid is going behind my back to fuck my boyfriend. I did this because you got in my way," she shrugged.

"And you just got in mine," Naminé countered, slowly composing herself. It was extremely hard to do, but not impossible. "Why don't you just accept the fact that Roxas doesn't want you? Why would he ever want a pathetic attention whore like you?"

That ignited a fire inside the diva. Still, it couldn't compare to the raging flames roaring inside of the maid. "You don't even have the right to stand in my face and say this to me. You're the one that got involved with someone who's taken, you fucking slut."

"Oh, I'm the slut?" Naminé laughed bitterly as she wiped at her eyes. But before she could even start her next sentence, Olette butted in.

"Why else would Vanitas cheat on you with me? He needed something new; something that wasn't old and used up."

Naminé looked at Vanitas, who desperately tried to avoid her eyes. He only did that when he was lying or guilty of something. That was the last straw. Naminé ran at the diva and landed a solid punch right to her nose. She was only able to get a couple punches in before the guys attempted to pull them apart.

Roxas held the fuming blonde back as she struggled to get away from him. The naive star thought he could hold an angry Naminé back using only half his strength so he wouldn't hurt her. He soon realized his mistake when she grabbed his shirt and threw him onto the hard, tile floor.

 _Did she just...body slam me!?_ he asked himself as she got a hold of Olette again. She said she grew up around people who loved to fight, but he never expected her to be that strong.

He quickly shook the thought away and scrambled to his feet to grab Naminé again, using all his strength this time. That was a mistake he'd never make again. But by the time Olette's hair was a mess, her nose was bleeding, and a couple of bruises were already forming.

"I had him first! He's _mine_ , you stupid bitch!" she spat.

"Really?" Naminé laughed bitterly. "If a guy keeps cheating on you, it means he doesn't want a fucking psychotic cunt following him around like a sad little whore puppy! Your relationship wasn't even fucking real!"

"Whore puppy," Vanitas snickered, though he tried hard not to.

As Naminé shouted more expletives at Olette, a lightbulb went off in Roxas' head. It didn't even register at first. He clamped his hand over her mouth with a blank expression to keep her quiet. "You slept with Vanitas?" he asked.

Without thinking, she replied, "Of course I did, idiot! You think I fucking need you!? I slept with him, Hayner, Demyx, Seifer, and that dumbass Rai too! You're not the only person in the world with a dick!"

He would need to ask Demyx about this later. Still, he smiled. "You bitch...you _stupid_ ** _bitch!_** " he laughed. "I'm free! _You_ slept with someone else, _you_ broke the contract, and _I'm_ _free!_ I get to keep my shit, my reputation, and my girlfriend!"

Olette stopped struggling against Vanitas once she realized what she'd done. He wasn't even supposed to know what the exit clause was. How did he find out? "No...no, it's not true! None of that was true! I was only trying to hurt you-!"

"Save it. I don't want to hear that shit. You and all your psychosis need to get the fuck out of my house."

"Hey! Don't talk to my best friend that way!" Vanitas sneered.

"You can get out too! The contract states that if she cheats, everything automatically gets transferred to me in my name! The two of you are now trespassing!" Roxas smirked triumphantly.

Naminé slipped out of his arms once again and tried to go after Olette, but Roxas quickly caught her and dragged her into a random room.

"Let go of me, Roxas! I swear to God, let go-!"

"No. You told me to stop; you need to stop now. Stay in here until I'm done."

"But-!"

"If you come out of this room, I swear..." Damn. He couldn't even properly threaten her. What would he do if she came out? He'd rather die than to hit her, he couldn't chain her down either. There honestly wasn't anything he could do.

He saw the tears streaming down her reddened face and sighed. "Stay here-"

"I'm not your pet, Roxas."

"Did I fucking say you were my pet!? No! I distinctly remember saying stay here! Don't put words in my motherfucking mouth!"

Yelling at her like that tore him up inside, but he felt that he needed to be heard, understood, and obeyed at the moment. If she got out, she could very well kill Olette. That wasn't something he wanted, no matter how many times he said he wanted her to die. Everything would be just fine if he handled this himself.

Luckily for him, she seemed to realize that. His faltering glare was enough to get his point across and let her know that he wasn't angry with her. The two trespassers outside were the problem. "Fine," she growled as she stomped to the other side of the room and plopped down in a chair, sobbing quietly to herself.

As much as it pained him, he had a situation to deal with and he had to leave her. Almost as soon as he left, there was a lot of screaming and yelling in the foyer. She heard Roxas' voice the clearest. Then someone started to throw things. Naminé didn't have to see it to know that it was her favorite blond.

A new hatred for Olette started to fester inside of her for several reasons. One of them was because of Vanitas. He didn't even try to deny what she'd said. She knew he cheated on her, but with someone like Olette? How could he?

What made it worse was that Naminé had poured her soul out to Olette about how she missed Vanitas one day. Naminé wound up telling her their entire story; even described him physically and said his name. She basically admitted to bringing him back with the intent of hurting her.

Another reason was because of Roxas. She'd trapped him in a type of abusive relationship that caused physical and emotional scars that probably wouldn't heal any time soon. Thinking of Roxas pain, plus her own pain, and the new knowledge of who Vanitas cheated with had mixed together and caused her to attack Olette.

They weren't ever friends. Not really. Out of the two celebrities, Olette wound up playing her when she expected Roxas to. If only she had trusted him from the start.

In the back of her head, she still felt like some of this was her fault. If she would've never gotten involved with Roxas in the first place, Olette wouldn't have felt threatened. If Olette didn't feel threatened, Naminé wouldn't have been targeted and shot down like this.

She didn't know what to do or how to feel. Seeing Vanitas again stirred up feelings that she didn't want to have anymore. Roxas was the one she wanted to be with. Knowing that Vanitas was alive was more of a burden than she thought it would be.

XXX

After finally getting Olette and Vanitas to leave, Roxas had resorted to throwing everything that belonged to her in the middle of the street. Once all her junk was in the street, he soaked the pile in Vodka, lit it on fire, and watched it burn as he sat in the grass.

Little did he know, Naminé was watching him. She felt bad for him. By now, it was probably just sinking in that he could've been free years ago. Or that Demyx had slept with her too and he had no clue.

Now _that_ was a shock. She honestly thought they hated each other.

After the sun had set, he went back into the house to be with Naminé. He wanted to give her space at first, but he just couldn't stand being away from her anymore. What better way to heal than to be with someone that was hurting just as much as you?

He knocked twice on the door before entering the dimly lit room. "Starr? Are you alright?"

She sat still in her chair, facing away from the door. "I guess so. I mean...I should be."

Without having to think about it, he pulled a chair up in front of her and sat down. "Man...I never thought breaking this contract would be so bittersweet. I have you, but I still feel like Olette won. She's taken some of the best years of my life away from me. I really fooled myself into thinking that this would be easy."

Naminé closed her eyes. "I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to push you away and I didn't plan on trying to fight Olette...or body slamming you. Everything was just so overwhelming and chaotic and I just wanted to have control of something."

That didn't even bother him. The important thing was that she was okay now. If she had chosen Vanitas and if Olette hadn't opened her big mouth, he still would've wanted her to be okay. Her happiness was what mattered the most. Even if it caused his own suffering.

"I still..." her bottom lip trembled as she looked up at him. "I still _love_ him, Roxas. I need to talk to him."

He expected as much. His mouth opened to speak several times, but there was nothing he could say to make either of them feel better.

Both his life and his future were already fucked up. That much was certain. After tonight, he was sure that Naminé probably wouldn't be a part of either of them. The only thing that made losing her somewhat tolerable was that he didn't have to put up with Olette for the rest of his life.

"I understand," he whispered.

Naminé moved forward and leaned her forehead against his shoulder. "I'm not sure I'm leaving you, Roxas. I need to straighten some things out with him first. I won't know until I talk to him."

A sad smile spread across his lips as he leaned forward. "I totally get it. I do. It's just...you'd be amazed at how much I freak out inside when I'm near you."

"Is that a bad thing?" she asked.

Tears shined in his eyes as he shook his head. He told himself he was through crying. Apparently he wasn't. "Not at all. I love the feeling, actually. You're killing a part of me that I wish never existed and I don't want you to go," his voice trembled.

Somehow, she understood that he meant Jo. Jo probably wouldn't ever open up to people like this. He was a confident, reserved person. Whoever was sitting in front of her was much different than the person she'd met a year ago.

Roxas tried his best to compose himself as she wrapped her arms around him. He hoped that she would stay quiet and say nothing else. If the words I'm sorry came out of her mouth, he'd lose it. People only apologized in situations like this when they were breaking up with you.

"I'm really sorry."

In a single moment, all those years of anger, disappointment, sadness, and everything else he'd ever felt poured out of him like an empty faucet. It wasn't relieving in the slightest. The only thing he could think about was how Olette, even in her defeat, managed to take away yet another important piece of his life.

XXX

Olette fumed in the passenger's seat of Vanitas' car as he drove around downtown Twilight Town. She didn't want to be in one place, so she told him to drive until she cooled off. The only problem was that Olette kept badmouthing Naminé. Even though he was upset about her taking Roxas' side, he still wanted her back.

"And that dumb little bitch-"

"Can you stop calling her that?" he snapped.

One of the bruises on her face was turning purple now. She frowned at it as she snapped the compact mirror shut. "That bitch hit me and now I'm bruising. I have a shoot in two days! I can't show up with goddamn bruises, swelling, and a busted lip!"

Vanitas gripped the steering wheel tighter. "Stop calling her that! Of course she hit you! You said exactly what I told you _not_ to say! What did you expect!?"

"It's not my fault that-"

"Oh, of course not," he spat with a thick amount of sarcasm. They were friends, but she could be really annoying at times. "Nothing's ever your fault. Speaking of faults, you neglected to enlighten me about your "relationship" with Roxas. What did Naminé mean when she said it wasn't real? Why did Roxas say he was free?"

Green eyes glared at the floor of the car. Everything was falling apart and she didn't understand how. It was all planned so perfectly. Vanitas was supposed to show his face, Naminé was supposed to run into his arms, and she was supposed to get Roxas back.

"Maybe you should tell me why the hell Roxas cheated on you so many times? Even better, why did you cheat on him in the first place? A lot of what you told me before is starting to not make sense now."

"You just don't understand."

"I never will if you don't open your mouth and speak up. Tell me what the hell's going on."

Tears welled in her eyes as she shook her head. Words of explanation started to spew out of her mouth. She told him about how she drugged him, about the contract, the exit clause, Roxas' maids, his addiction to sex, how she felt about Naminé, what she did with Demyx, everything. And he sat there and listened to all of it.

"The worst part about all of this is that I really don't feel...bad. I don't feel bad about what I've done at all. The only thing I regret is losing to Roxas. Other than that...I don't feel anything but pride. I deserve to be respected and treated like a queen. If people don't give me the worship I deserve, they suffer. That's how it is and that's how it should always be."

Now Vanitas felt like an idiot for trusting her. Roxas and Naminé were the victims in all of this. None of this had to happen. Naminé probably hated his guts for siding with Olette, but he honestly didn't know any better.

He pulled the car over and put it in park. "If that's what you think, then why the fuck are you crying? You didn't get the guy you wanted, boo fucking hoo. The world doesn't revolve around you. Man, you fucking _drugged_ me!? Goddamn psycho..."

Why _was_ she crying? It was odd. Every time she thought of the little blonde maid's face, she felt like dying. She felt extremely guilty for how she'd spoken to her; for how she'd treated her and pushed away what could have been a great friend.

Still, Roxas was hers and hers alone. Xigbar, her manager, had already called and left her several messages about the contract being broken. He apologized profusely each time, but all of the messages ended up being about how Jo was legally free to leave her and tell the world that their entire relationship was a farce.

The contract was the only way she could control Roxas and keep his mouth shut. If he started talking, she'd lose supporters and sponsors. No one would want anything to do with her after he finished telling them about all the horrible things she'd done.

"You know what?" he spat as he unlocked her door. "Get out of my car. I don't care where you go, but I'm not about to dive into Hell with you."

Her eyes widened in surprise. "Are you serious!? How am I supposed to get to where I'm going!?"

"Ask one of your many puppets, since you don't see any of us as human beings. I'll get Naminé back by myself. Get the fuck out."

Now livid, she unbuckled her seatbelt and got out. "Fine. I don't need you! You'll just go down with them!"

"Have a nice life," he scoffed before speeding off into the night.

Screaming in frustration, she threw the little clutch she managed to take with her across the street. How dare he? People all of a sudden thought they could treat her like shit because they were in love? Fuck that. She was determined to get her way by any means necessary.

The diva decided to use her powers of fame one last time. It had to be something big that would completely destroy Roxas. If he was down and out, Naminé would see how terrible he was and leave him. Then they'd both be alone.

With a small smile, she pulled out her phone and scrolled through her contacts to find a special person. This was her ticket to keeping everything she's ever worked for. Then when she got Roxas back under her thumb, she'd give him the proper punishment.

"Hi Mr. Soto, it's Olette. Yeah, you remember that Christmas party! Listen, I have some information you might want to hear and I don't think you'll like it. It's about Demyx Trapson and your daughter."

 **XXX**

 **You all wanted this chapter. I wanted it too XD I personally love this chapter, even though it's sad. No idea why...**

 **I am not responsible for any partially/fully broken hearts because of this. We will all agree to blame our own emotions for overwhelming us.**

 **Only a few more chapters to go now. I'm currently debating on whether or not I want to change my happy ending. Opinions, anyone?**


	22. Some Type Of Closure

**22**

Naminé sat at a table for two at Liquid Life. Not just any table, but the table Roxas used to sit at all the time. Being there was a bit nostalgic. Nice, yet kind of painful.

Reggie, a face she'd missed so much, sat in front of her with a glare. She couldn't tell if it was playful or not. It didn't seem like it. "Yes, Reggie Bear?" she asked.

Reggie exploded. "How dare you get involved with a celebrity and not tell me!? We talked on the phone several times and not once did you mention you were getting it! I had to find out through social media! Why was I not updated on your sex life!?"

Naminé blushed and tried to hide from the view of the other customers. "Shush, Reg-"

"Do not shush me. Reggie don't fucking shush when he's pissed. Explain yourself, slut."

There was a major difference between Reggie and everyone else. He could call her a slut or a whore without meaning it, therefore he was allowed to call her these things with no consequence. If anyone else called her these things, a fight was sure to happen. Her friends were exceptions too, but they usually got cussed out.

"I can't really explain myself. He was trapped in a contract and the world wasn't supposed to know about me until it was broken. Now that it is, people can know about us. It had nothing to do with me purposely withholding info."

Reggie's glare softened. "I'm sorry. But...why are you here? And where's Jo?"

"At home," she sighed. "I'm here to talk with someone. What better place than Liquid Life?"

The brunet smiled. "Yeahhh. Best café in the city. You want something to eat, Sugar?"

Sugar. Sugar was sweet...really sweet. Saccharine. Starr. _Roxas_.

 _Damn it._ Why did thinking about Roxas hurt so much? She wasn't one hundred percent positive that she was leaving him. In fact, she wanted to go back to him.

So why couldn't she take off the engagement ring? And why was she even at the café?

Reggie realized that he messed up somehow and facepalmed. "I'm just going to bring you your favorite. Be right back."

Naminé nodded, refusing to take her eyes off of the ring. "When did life become so complicated?"

"I'm gonna go out on a limb and say when you first moved to Twilight Town."

She flinched at the new voice. Her instinct was to run, but she said she'd talk to him. They both needed this talk. "I get it. You told me so."

He sat in front of her with a sigh. "I'd rather not rub salt in the wound."

After that, it was awkward silence. Neither knew what to say. How were they going to talk if they couldn't open their mouths?

Naminé wanted to run her hand through her hair, but it was in a bun. She was so used to wearing it down back in the hotel room. Wearing a bun felt weird now.

Reggie came back with Naminé's food. He immediately noticed Vanitas and forced a smile. "You must be Minivan."

"It's um...Vanitas."

"Did I ask you what your name was?" he snapped. "You'll answer to whatever I call you."

Vanitas nodded, hoping that it'd get him to go away soon. He was way too tired to pick a fight with anyone.

Reggie sat the plate down with a glare. "I don't want to see her cry again. She's already cried way too much over you. Let _one_ tear fall and I'm kicking your ass, got it?"

"Chill, Reggie. It's not gonna be like that," Naminé mumbled.

He backed away obediently. "Alright. I'm behind the counter if you need me."

Naminé rolled her eyes. Why did people suddenly think she needed protection? She was a grown woman who could handle her own. It was nice of him to care, but she could handle things herself.

She inhaled deeply, then released the breath slowly. "First, I want to say I'm really glad you're not dead."

"Hell, me too. I'd really miss all that oxygen in my lungs," he laughed. Naminé tried not to smile as he did. She forgot he could turn anything into a joke.

"Be serious. Can you please explain how you're alive in the first place?"

Though he didn't particularly want to, he started to explain. He looked uncomfortable about it at first. Then out of nowhere, things just started spilling out of his mouth and he couldn't control it. He explained how he survived, his three month coma, the move to Agrabah, Olette before and after the crash, and how she lied to him.

When he finished, Naminé felt the need to explain herself. She recalled everything she'd been through with Roxas, everything she'd learned, and everything she felt. Vanitas had to know that she was not his slave. Roxas would never think of her that way.

That's when the conversation went into a downward spiral.

"So what's with that collar? I doubt he gave that to you because it looks cute," he frowned.

"It was a part of the contract. I was his maid before I was his anything," she shrugged.

"Are you still his maid?"

"I don't...I don't know! We haven't talked about all that. I don't really care either. I'd rather work for him than to be living there for free. I could help him pay bills and stuff."

Vanitas narrowed his eyes in confusion. "But that's stupid! You'd just be giving his money right back to him!"

"Well...n-no. No. That's not the same thing, Vanitas."

"Then tell me a difference. That isn't even a real job. You stay with him, you have sex with him, you cook, you clean his enormous house, and you accept money from him. It's like...some kind of weird combination of a sugar baby and a wife!"

Naminé's cheeks went red in anger. "Maybe I don't mind that! It's not about the money-!"

"I'm not saying that it is! I'm saying that...doing all this with him should at least be a tiny bit degrading, don't you think?"

"It isn't," she growled. "I don't feel degraded and he's not trying to degrade me. Roxas is sweet to me and-"

"And he's playing you! Why can't you see that!?"

She started to grind her teeth: something she had never done before. "You mean like how you quickly picked up on the fact that your "best friend" was lying to you? _Playing_ you? You certainly have the eyes of a hawk when it comes to people running game," she spat sarcastically.

"I'd rather have her tell me she lied to me than to mooch off of her and sleep with her while wearing my ex-girlfriend's engagement ring..."

Before she could even open her mouth to retort, he laughed bitterly. "I don't even have to guess that you're gonna run crying to him because I hurt your feelings. It's the truth. He's letting you mooch off of him because he doesn't want to be alone. You're using each other. The Naminé I remember wouldn't stand for that. She'd want her own job so she could support herself. She wouldn't let a man do everything for her."

True, her feelings were hurt. But she wasn't going to cry to Roxas. It was probably wrong, but she knew there was one thing she could say to hurt Vanitas and make herself feel better.

"I'm not the same Naminé you remember. There's one major difference that sets the two of us apart." She took the engagement ring off and sat it on the table in front of him. " _This_ Naminé doesn't want you. In fact, she _hates_ you. But thanks for talking to me. You've only helped me confirm my feelings for Roxas."

Vanitas scoffed, staring at the gold band in shock. Naminé stood and left him sitting there with the ring and the strawberry cheese cake. When he looked up, she was already gone.

He knew she didn't really hate him. The fact that she was serious about Roxas hurt more than anything. He didn't expect her to give the ring back like that, but she did.

Despite the growing hole in his heart, he chuckled. "Trying to hurt others when you yourself are upset? Now _that's_ the Naminé I remember." He picked the ring up and laughed again. "We all really need to stop thinking you're perfect."

XXX

 _You all hate your children, they're too fat to feed_

 _You're on medication, taking pills to sleep_

 _I think I'm doing just fine_

 _Compared to what you've been doing_

 _I won't get vaccinated, insurance costs too much_

 _You think you're so persuasive, but I'm not giving up_

 _Saving my life_

 _It's not what you're doing_

 _I, I won't justify_

 _The way I live my life_

 _'Cause I'm the one livin' it, feelin' it, tastin' it and you're just wasting your time_

 _Trying to throw me a line_

 _When you're the one drowning_

 _I like where I'm at, on my back, floating down in my own riptide_

 _The water is fine_

Zexion paused the instrumental and sat back in his chair. "You're doing good today."

Roxas raised an eyebrow. "Then why'd you stop me?"

He glanced at Demyx, who was slowly backing himself up into a corner. "You guys need a break. Get something to eat, drink something, maybe _talk_..." he emphasized.

Zexion now knew about Demyx and Olette. At first he was pissed because he didn't say anything sooner, but Demyx quickly explained that he couldn't. Now it was time for him to explain that to Roxas.

Roxas nodded and turned to Demyx with a slight glare. "He's right. We should take a break. I need to talk to you about something."

"I'd rather go to prison," he mumbled. Still, he nodded towards the door and walked out with Roxas following behind him.

Their walk was silent for the most part. Demyx could feel the shorter blond boring holes into the back of his head and the thick tension in the air, but he tried to ignore it as best he could.

Roxas, however, couldn't. He knew there was more to the story. He just wished he'd tell him what was going on.

"So you slept with Olette and didn't tell me?" he blurted.

Demyx, without turning to face him, shrugged his shoulders. "Pretty much."

"You let me suffer for _years_ , Demyx. How the fuck could you do that to me!?"

He shoved his hands in his pockets and sighed, continuing to walk. "I'm gonna tell you like I told Zexion; I didn't have a choice. It was either keep my mouth shut or go to prison."

"Prison? But you didn't do anything wrong. How could she-?"

"She knows things about me that even you don't, Roxas. I don't even want to tell you. Zexion looks at me differently now that he knows what I did and I don't want to see that look coming from you of all people."

Roxas rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't look at you differently. No matter what you did, I wouldn't care. That's all in the past."

"Whatever you say. I'm probably gonna wind up in prison anyway because the contract is broken. The only way she could possibly get back at you now is by sending me away. I've learned to think like her, which scares me a bit."

Roxas scratched at his head in confusion. "I don't get how. What did you do that's worthy of something like prison?"

"I'm not going to answer that question."

"Maybe I can help you! We're brothers, right!? We should tell each other everything!"

Demyx, now furious, grabbed Roxas by the collar of his shirt and pulled him into an empty room. He knew he was going to have to tell him eventually, but the more childish part of him almost believed he could keep it from him forever.

"You wanna know so badly? Fine. A few years ago, I fell in love with and an underaged girl. And we had sex, like, every chance we got," he tried to laugh. It came out nervous and awkward. "She was sixteen, but I didn't care. I still don't fucking care. I'd probably do it again if I had the freedom to."

Roxas stared at Demyx, trying hard not to give him the look he'd mentioned earlier. It was then that he realized he didn't know everything about Demyx. "But that's...she was the only one, right?"

Demyx didn't reply.

"She was the only one, right?" he spat.

"Why do you think I keep going M.I.A. on our tours?" Demyx asked.

He couldn't hold it in anymore. Roxas was thoroughly disgusted, confused, and upset and it showed in his features. "So you've slept with...you _sleep with_ teenage girls?"

"Yes I did and yes I do. I don't regret it, I don't wish I could take it back, and I'm not promising anyone that I won't do it in the future. It's like being gay. You can't help what you like."

"But being gay isn't illegal! What could you possibly want with a teenage girl!?"

Demyx sighed. "I thought it was pretty clear what I want from them. Younger girls are just different. Everything feels different...better, actually. I'm not talking twelve and thirteen years old, but at least sixteen. I really can't help it, Rox."

"I can't even...what the hell is wrong with you!? Does it not register in your head that that's wrong!?"

That was it for Demyx. Now he was pissed. "Maybe it's wrong, but isn't it also wrong to sleep around? Isn't it wrong to lead girls on and use them? Especially the ones you supposedly love!?"

The connection was made instantly. It was understood that he was bringing Naminé into this. "Are you trying to say that I'm using Naminé?"

"For sex? Of course you are! Just because you have an addiction doesn't mean you can act any way you want and use that as an excuse! I don't doubt that you love her, but you're using her!"

"You mean like you use those girls?" Roxas glared.

"I do use them and I can admit to that. But you," he laughed bitterly, "You need to grow the hell up. You need to get help and stop blaming your impulsive actions on your addiction. It hurt Naminé on several occasions and you don't seem to care. You get attached to women and then you become physically dependent on them. Nobody should have to be your life crutch!"

Roxas stayed silent, opting to glare at his shoes instead of looking at him. He knew, to an extent, that Demyx was right. He was extremely dependent on Naminé and often blamed his addiction. He had medication, but he didn't take it. That was his own fault.

Demyx began to pace back and forth. "I shouldn't have to stand here and scold you like I'm your damn father. But apparently, I've failed as a brother...and your mother and father obviously failed as parents because you honestly don't know any better. I know for a fact that you're just now realizing that this kind of behavior is wrong. You're twenty-five years old, Roxas. Take some goddamn responsibility for your actions."

"Why don't you take responsibility for yours? You've willingly committed the same crime over and over again. You know that's wrong, so why do you do it?"

Demyx scoffed. "There isn't a medication alive that can change a preference, Roxas. I'm just fucked up. We're both just...really fucked up."

"I know that. I don't care what you like."

"Then why are we arguing!?"

"I don't know!" he shouted. "I need...something to be mad at. Everything you said about me is true. I don't want to use Naminé anymore and I don't want you to go to prison. Not after everything we've been through."

The taller blond sighed. " _Now_ I can explain. If my preference got out back then, I would've been in prison. Away from you. I didn't want you to be alone and emotionally distressed. But now you have Naminé...and I know she'll take care of you while I'm away. That's why I'm okay with going to prison. I _am_ taking responsibility."

Roxas then realized that it wasn't about Demyx at all. He wasn't this horrible person that didn't want to face the consequences. He was still thinking about him, probably scared to death that he would start using again if he left. "So what are you gonna do now?"

"I think I'm gonna take Olette's satisfaction away and turn myself in. If I plead guilty, I only get a year. Cool, right?" Demyx grinned.

Roxas smirked. "Whatever floats your boat, man. Are you gonna be alright?"

"I don't know. I'm pretty, and pretty people don't do well in prison. But I'll be okay."

Roxas rolled his eyes. "Alright then. I'll believe you."

Demyx inhaled deeply, then slowly let it out with a sad smile. "See ya in a year, buddy."

As soon as they left the room, they saw two police officers in the lobby talking to the receptionist. The poparazzi was outside, pressed against the glass door like hungry animals.

"Huh. That bitch works fast, doesn't she?" Demyx chuckled as he made his way to the officers. Even though it saddened him to see it, Roxas watched as the officers handcuffed him and read him his rights.

Time slowed for Roxas as they dragged Demyx out into the whirlwind of flashing cameras and shouting reporters. Even though he was going to be locked up, he had a peaceful look on his face.

Still, Roxas couldn't take it. It was like watching a loved one die. "See you in a year." he mumbled to himself.

XXX

Olette turned on her TV, smiling as the story of Trapson's arrest came up. Without Demyx, Roxas would surely lose it.

 _"-And it seems that Trapson has taken the whole ordeal in stride."_

 _What the fuck...?_

A clip was shown from when Demyx was arrested. He was all smiles, even though he was in handcuffs.

 _"Are you willing to answer some questions for us?"_

 _"Sure! What do you wanna know, sweetie?" he grinned at the reporter._

 _"Why exactly are you being arrested?"_

 _"Apparently people frown upon things that happen in the past. I slept with a minor a few years ago and her father is **pretty** pissed at me for it," he chuckled._

Olette's eye twitched. "What's wrong with you? Why is that funny!? You're going to prison, idiot! Be upset!"

 _"So all you Dead Alive fans, blame Olette. I'm going to prison because she was petty enough to snitch on something that went down years ago because Roxas broke up with her and she thinks this is a way to get back at him. Pathetic little (bleep)."_

He then turned to look at the camera. _"I may be getting arrested, but at least I'm not gullible. That friend of mine never had a vasectomy; Olette should probably get a pregnancy test."_

Olette dropped her remote in anger. "You told me...fuck!" she screamed as she went to grab her phone. She quickly texted a message to her roommate, who was out on the road, and asked him to pick up a test for her. "I can not be fucking pregnant!"

You all know that Olette had been sleeping with Demyx. Recently, while Roxas was in Destiny Islands, he talked her into a threesome and made sure to tell her his friend had a vasectomy when he hadn't. The purpose was to get her pregnant to fuck with her head and body.

She received a text back. _No. I fukin told yo ass you was pregnant. Tf. I ain't bout to let you n yo little demon live w/ me. Pack yo shit and get out._

Olette scoffed, reading the message again. How could this be happening? Everything was falling apart. Now even the friends she thought were the most loyal and trustworthy wanted nothing to do with her.

Roxas certainly couldn't be doing any better than she was.

XXX

Back at home, Roxas threw his coat on the arm of the couch and stretched. He didn't like that Demyx was gone and hoped to God that a year would just fly by. In the end, Demyx was wrong and had to receive his punishment somehow

And Olette was pregnant for someone other than him. He was almost living the life!

"Roxas? Is that you?" Naminé called from upstairs.

He was shocked to hear her. He thought she would've been out with Vanitas all day. "Who else would come into my house?" he laughed.

She came running down the stairs, her hair no longer in a bun. She looked extremely happy to see him and gave him the tightest hug when she got to him. "You weren't here when I got home."

"I was...just at the studio. Why are you all hyper?"

Naminé shrugged and smiled. "Dunno. I just feel...light. And free."

He returned her hug. Her talk with Vanitas must have gone well. Whatever happened had a great affect on her. "That's good. So...you two are together now?"

"Hell no! Roxas, it was stupid of me to even consider leaving you. I'm all yours, I promise. I love you."

It took a few seconds to register, but the information finally sank in. He won. Even though it shouldn't have been a competition, he'd won. Naminé wanted to be with him...and now she could be with that devil out of the way.

Roxas took a deep breath in preparation for his reply. Whatever happened, he could not spazz out or be dorky. It had to make her believe that he was still confident and never doubted her.

"Oh my God, I love you so much! I thought you were gonna leave! I tried to be supportive, but I'm full of shit!"

... _Or_ he could spazz out and tell her that he doubted her. Whatever works.

Naminé laughed and listen to him pretend to sob. "Oh Roxas, you think after all this time I don't know you're full of shit?"

"Well ouchies..." he pouted petulantly. That didn't stop him from pulling away and kissing her.

"But," she giggled as she tried to stop the barrage of kisses. "Vanitas did make me realize that I can't just sit here and do nothing. I don't want to just sit back and have you take care of me. Send that application in."

Roxas quirked an eyebrow. "For the dance competition I told you about?"

"Yes, that. If Vanitas can go off and be a choreographer without me, I can be one too. Send it," she smiled.

He pressed their noses together and smiled back at her. He was relieved that she still wanted him. "You got it. I'd literally do anything for you," he whispered.

XXX

That night when Roxas fell asleep, he dreamed that he was in a black room. Literally everything in the room was black. In fact...the room looked like a demented version of his own bedroom.

He went over to his mirror and got a good look at himself. There were dark circles and bags around his eyes, his face was really pale, and his wristband was gone. Now he could clearly see all the cuts. There was no way to hide him.

What surprised him the most was his clothing. He was in a black tuxedo and shiny dress shoes.

"Roxas?"

He turned around, but the rest of his room wasn't there. He was standing amongst a crowd of people dressed in black. Demyx himself, who was standing in front of him wearing in a similar tux, was smiling as well. "Aren't you going to see him one last time?"

"W-Who?"

He dragged him towards the front of the crowd of...smiling people? Wasn't this a funeral? Why was everyone so happy?

Up front, there was a coffin. Inside was a man with spiky blonde hair. He wore gray camo pants, combat boots, and a white t-shirt with cut off sleeves. Laying on his chest was Roxas' favorite snapback.

He couldn't believe it. He was staring at himself in that coffin.

"Is that...me? I'm dead?"

Demyx was gone. The man in the coffin opened his eyes and snickered. "Nah, I'm just fucking with you. What's up, buddy!?"

He didn't understand anything anymore.

He watched himself sit up, place the snapback on his head, and climb out of the coffin. "Roxas Jones, but you can call me Jo."

"Wait, aren't _I_ Roxas Jones?" he asked.

"Um, _no_ ," Jo laughed. "You invented me, remember? I have the piercing, you have the um...Edward Scissorhands shit going on there," he motioned to his wrist.

Roxas reached up to touch his eyebrow. Sure enough, there was no piercing. And Jo's wrists looked fine.

Now he really didn't understand anything.

"Look," Jo sighed, "Don't freak out. This is just a fucked up way for your subconscious mind to tell you to get rid of me."

"Tch, get rid of you? Why would I do that? You've done so much for me. I should thank you."

Jo blinked slowly, then burst into laughter. "You're fucking delusional! Let me show you why you want to get rid of me. Babe!"

Naminé appeared. She walked right past Roxas and wrapped her arms around Jo. "Hey baby. Something wrong?"

Roxas' eye twitched slightly. He was ninety-percent sure he ate something bad before bed and it caused him to dream this shit up.

"Nah, nothing's wrong. Our friend is here!"

She turned to Roxas in confusion. "Who the hell is that?"

Roxas scoffed. "No... _I'm_ Roxas Jones. Nam, you know me. It's JoJo!"

Naminé rolled her eyes. "I think I would know my own boyfriend. This is JoJo," she smiled affectionately at the man beside her. "I'm gonna go. Your friend looks like he's about to lose it."

And just like that, she disappeared from Roxas' sight.

"See there? She doesn't know who you are because you never showed her this part of you. You really want her to be in love with a dick like me? I'm only going to keep hurting her."

Roxas stared at his shoes. "I don't know how to be me anymore. The whole reason I wanted to be you is because you have everything. I didn't want to hurt anymore."

"Yeah, because being numb is _sooo_ much better," he scoffed. "I'd rather feel pain than nothing at all. It's a part of life. Olette's out of yours, bro. What are you going to do now?"

Roxas looked all around, expecting Jo to answer for him. When he realized that he wasn't going to, he guessed. "I'm gonna live?"

Jo deadpanned. "You're a pathetic little dumbass."

"Hey-!"

"Shut up."

"Okay..."

He groaned and facepalmed. "Okay then. Here's what you're _not_ going to do: take Naminé for granted. Do that and I will come for you in your fucking sleep, got it!?"

Roxas nodded in fear. He didn't realize how terrifying Jo could be.

"Good. I'll be here if you need me, so try not to need me."

The blond star jumped slightly as he woke from the crazy dream. He understood now. It wouldn't be easy, but he had to get rid of Jo.

Naminé walked out of the connected bathroom in the dark. "Bad dream?"

He stretched out and shook his head. "Eh, I don't know what the fuck that was."

She laid down next to him and let him wrap his arms around her. "Well go back to sleep. I'd like to think of tomorrow as the first day of the rest of our lives."

That made him smile. Just thinking about being with her that long made him happy. Happier than he was when he broke the contract.

They shared a quick kiss before Naminé laid her head on his chest and drifted off to sleep.

 _It's not over_ , something in the back of his mind whispered. And he had a feeling it was right.

 **XXX**

 **Songs used/hinted at:**

 **Riptide_Sick Puppies**

 **Pain_Three Days Grace**

 **I know you're wondering how in the world I'm going to end this in a few chapters without rushing it. Just know that I've figured out the kind of ending I want now. Everything will just fall into place.**

 **Which ending did I pick? Well, you'll just have to read, won't you?**


	23. Roxas

**23**

It was finally time for the contract to be discussed. Roxas sat down at the large table across from the maniac that started it all. He was a bit surprised to see that she looked better than she had in years. Olette didn't have on a bunch of makeup, she wasn't wearing clothes to draw attention to herself, and her hair was pulled back into a simple ponytail. Most importantly, she wasn't frowning. Her face looked...neutral, if not happy.

That, admittedly, shook him up a bit. What was with the new conservative look all of a sudden?

Roxas quickly pushed any and all thoughts about her new attractiveness away. He knew that it was a trick. The only thing sitting in front of him was a trojan horse, not the beautiful and caring woman he once thought she was.

Zexion took a seat next to him, which brought a bit of his confidence back. He didn't have to do it alone. "I'm glad you finally had free time, Mrs. DiCcirco," he spoke professionally.

"I've had a lot going on the past few weeks. Moving back to my mother's was especially difficult, seeing as how all of my things were thrown in the middle of the street, burned, and then ran over multiple times by a certain someone's Suburban..."

Zexion looked at Roxas, who hid his smile. "It was all Jo's idea," Roxas said honestly.

Xigbar hid one as well, but cleared his throat to bring the attention to himself. "Anyway, we're here. What's there to discuss, Kitten," he smirked, looking directly at Zexion.

He shuddered in disgust. That was the reason he hated talking to him; the reason he feared him so much. Xigbar was a particularly large man, much larger than Zexion. For that big old bag of testosterone to flirt with him every time they got together was just wrong.

"The um...c-contract," he stuttered. "Your client openly admitted to sleeping with multiple men during this publicity stunt. _My_ client wants out of this contract ASAP."

Xigbar nodded. "Well I could've guessed that. Here's the problem, babe-"

"Please don't call me that..." Zexion mumbled.

"-My client may have admitted to it, but did your client actually _catch_ my client cheating? Did he see it with his own eyes?"

Roxas' blood ran cold. This couldn't be happening. They were trying to find a way to suck him back in. "But she admitted to it in front of two witnesses. That should count! The contract can't possibly still be in affect!"

"See, _that's_ where you're wrong. The contract clearly states that you have to catch her cheating, which you didn't. This publicity stunt is still a go. Also, you have to pay for all the damage you caused. Everything you burned and ran over is coming out of your pocket."

Zexion remained calm on the outside, even though he was panicking a little inside. If Roxas saw him panicking, he'd do the same. "Don't think we're not ready to take your asses to court. Like Roxas said, we have two witnesses who would be more than willing to testify for his freedom."

"It would all be for nothing. My lawyer has never lost a case," Olette spoke. It was like she wasn't even there with them. "It would be in your best interest to just replace my things and allow me to move back in with you."

"Or _what?_ " Roxas hissed.

"Or I take everything you own."

Roxas looked at Zexion, then to Xigbar. She was serious. This was actually happening. He could either get back with her or lose everything. How was he supposed to remain a part of Dead Alive if he had nothing to his name?

It wasn't worth it. Roxas might have fallen for this, but Jo knew exactly how to handle this. He would need his help one last time.

"Alright. I will let you move back into the house."

Olette smiled. "As I thought you would."

"But not with me. You can take whatever you want from me, but you will _not_ take who I am. I refuse to sit in that house and suffer for fame. I don't know if I ever told you this, but I've _never_ hated anyone more than I hate you and that bitch you call a mother. I want both of you out of my life," he spat.

Olette finally let a glare settle onto her features. "Why would you do that!? You would willingly bankrupt yourself for nothing!?"

"Not for nothing, for _Naminé_. She was the only one that successfully destroyed what you and I created. Jo is slowly leaving, so why would I give him a reason to come back?"

The brunette's hands curled into fists. "You don't hate me...you can't. You need me, Roxas. If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't even be famous! I could take that away if I wanted to! You'll never work again!"

"And what do you think will happen when you take everything? I'll just tell everyone everything you've done to me, to Demyx, to Vanitas, and to Dead Alive as a whole. I have reliable friends, Olette. _You_ don't."

Her emerald eyes narrowed in anger. He couldn't win. She wouldn't let him. "You do that and Naminé will never work either. Let's see how long the love lasts when you're both broke and hungry."

A smirk spread across his face as he looked up at her. "Challenge accepted. Naminé and I will be out of your house before the end of the week. I look forward to seeing how this game ends."

XXX

There was a note on the door when Roxas got home. _Got called in for interview. Be back later. I love you!_ He chuckled as he folded the note and stuck it in his pocket and unlocked the front door. "I love you too."

The house was pretty empty. Olette's stuff was gone, Olette was gone, and Naminé was out. He walked further into the house and stood there in awe. How was one man supposed to handle a house this big?

His eyes shifted to the stairs in thought. Why did he need all of this? Why did he need over a dozen cars and a huge house? When Naminé was out, it made him feel small and lonely.

Now, more than ever, he knew that he wanted Jo gone. None of this material stuff mattered. She could have the stuff; all of it. It all belonged to Jo, so Roxas didn't want it.

With a smirk, he walked over to the closet and grabbed one of his old clubs from when he thought he wanted to play golf. His eyes locked on the large lamp as he glided forward and slammed the end of the club into it, smashing it to pieces.

It didn't stop there. He smashed another lamp, knocked down several paintings, destroyed the railing if the stairs, threw the flat screen TV on the ground, stomped on CDs of meaningless rappers, and took a knife to the couch cushions. It may have been impulsive, or even insane, but he didn't care. He couldn't and wouldn't stop until the entire living room was a mess.

It felt good to break these things. It wasn't like they were going to make him less famous if he didn't have them. He yearned to be an actual human being and not just a personality or a name in lights.

Getting rid of all the material things felt like the right thing to do.

XXX

Naminé whistled Can't Feel My Face to herself as she grabbed her house key out of her pocket and unlocked the front door. Immediately after stepping inside, her boot crunched a small pile of glass.

Her bag dropped to the floor as she looked at the damage. It looked like a hurricane swept through there. "Roxas, what the hell _happened_ in here!?"

The sound of glass shattering in the garage caught her attention. She maneuvered through the glass and ceramic shards to make it to the garage door. There, she saw Roxas standing in front of his Escalade with a golf club. Scratch that, standing in front of his ruined Escalade. All of his cars were ruined, windowless, dented, missing mirrors, and keyed. Except for the Hummer in the front, which was Naminé's favorite.

"What the fuck did you do!?" she screeched as she ran over to him. She didn't know if she should be more worried about the cars or his sanity at that point.

He shrugged and dropped the club on the ground carelessly. "I broke everything," he chuckled.

Her eye twitched slightly in anger. "What pleasure could you possibly get from breaking all your stuff!?"

"It's not my stuff. Roxas never had any of this."

Her face softened. Something must have happened to him for him to wanna do this. "Baby, what happened? Are you all there?" she asked, motioning to his head.

"Yes, I am," he laughed. "Olette happened. She's saying that because I didn't see her cheat on me that the contract is still valid. If I don't get back with her, I lose all my stuff. So she can have it. The torn up house, the broken cars, the ripped clothes, all of it."

Naminé looked at the Hummer in confusion. "What about that one. She's going to take that too, isn't she?"

He dangled the keys to it in front of her face. "She can't take _your_ Hummer, silly. She can't take your money either. That's why I want to transfer every cent I have to your bank account and move out of this house."

The blonde stared at the keys with a blank expression, then slowly turned to her boyfriend. "Roxas..."

"Yes?"

"You are fucking crazy! What the hell kind of plan is that!? You didn't even let me in on it before you started smashing shit! Please remind me why I love you!"

With a smile, he wrapped his arms around her waist. "I honestly don't know why you love me. I'm a mess."

Naminé's frown melted the second she saw that familiar loving twinkle in his eyes. It was as bright as ever. The feelings he had for her never died down, not even a little bit.

At the sight of it, her face heated up and her heart started to pound wildly in her chest. She was nervous and flustered all over again, afraid he might see just how nervous she was. "Oh..." she breathed shakily.

"Oh?"

She smiled and wrapped her hands around the collar of his shirt. "I remember. I love you _because_ you're a mess. A big ol' fruit-Punch-on-white-carpet mess; annoying and tedious, but colorful and interesting."

"And I love _you_ because you're like a cranky baby with no teeth."

"...I'm not getting the simile," she laughed.

"You're mean and you suck, but you're still adorable and I just have to hold you all the time."

"Shut up," she grinned as she pulled him down for a kiss. Unlike the scene around them, the kiss was sweet. At least it _was_ until he reached down and grabbed her ass with both hands. "God, why do you have to be such a creep!?" she hissed.

He shrugged and laughed. "I'm allowed it. I am your boyfriend, after all."

"You're also my boss, who is going way beyond what's stated in the contract," she smirked.

"You're fired," he purred as he captured her lips again.

XXX

Another few days later, nothing was happening. The paparazzi weren't following them around like leeches, Roxas had no interviews, and things were...slow.

In an attempt to overcome their boredom, and make the transition from winter to spring easier, the two blonds went out for frozen yogurt. It seemed like as soon as they got out of the house, they had everything to talk about.

"You're shitting me!"

"I shit you not, pretty lady. Ven kinda has a thing for Tifa," Roxas laughed.

"Wow. You think you know a person."

They laughed as they walked down the park's sidewalk. They had been walking in one huge circle for an hour.

"Hey, I'm really proud of you. You've been less of a pervert this week," she nudged him playfully. "Five brownie points awarded."

"Question," Roxas grinned. "Exactly how many brownie points do I have now...and how many of them do I have to obtain to get a special prize?"

"Hmm...you have twenty-five. You need thirty to get a prize."

The star pouted and kicked at a random rock. "Damn it. I will do whatever it takes to get those five points." He leaned in closer and whispered, "Whatever. It. Takes."

"Creep!" Naminé laughed as she pushed him away.

"I'm joking. I'll earn my points fair and square like everyone else. And I want my prize to be a huge stuffed panda."

"Why a stuffed panda?"

"Why not? Do I really need a reason to like stuffed pandas? What are you, the Federal Bureau of Panda Investigations?"

"...Yes, I'm the newest member of the FBPI."

Roxas laughed and tossed his empty cup in the trash once they passed it. "Sounds boring as hell. They don't do much, you know."

Their conversation quickly dwindled down to nothing. It was a silence much more comforting than when Olette didn't talk when she was around. He didn't have to be afraid or wonder if Naminé was planning anything against him.

"Random question: if you had chosen to go back to Vanitas...what would have happened to us? Do you think you'd still be my best friend?" Roxas asked.

Naminé cringed at the mention of his name. She was still uncomfortable with the thought of him. "Why do you ask?"

He shrugged, seemingly confused by his own actions. "You're not exactly familiar with the part of me that loves to talk. I wanna be more open with you; I want you to know who _Roxas_ really is. And he wants to know everything about you, including your opinion on certain things."

She nodded slowly, stopping to sit on the bench they were about to pass up. He sat beside her and waited for an answer.

Chewing at her bottom lip, she shrugged. "I don't know. The last time I wound up answering a question about Vanitas, I realized I was wrong."

"And what does that mean?"

"It means...I can't really explain it all that well. When I saw Vanitas, I felt a rush of several different emotions that I didn't want to feel. I felt like I wanted both you and him. I got confused, then angry, and then even more confused. I didn't know what I wanted. No offense but...I knew when I left to talk to him that there was a fifty-five percent chance that I wouldn't come back to you."

"Ow," he chuckled humorlessly. "Fifty-five percent. Thanks for that bit of disappointment."

"But when I talked to him, I realized how stupid I was to think that. Vanitas has changed in ways I don't like. He thinks the exact same thing of me. I just..." She took a deep breath. "If Vanitas had stayed the same and I got back with him, I don't think we would've been friends. He's just as possessive as you. Happy?"

Even though he wanted to be selfish and pout about how unfair that was, he knew it wouldn't be fair to her if he did. They were officially boyfriend and girlfriend and he sure as hell didn't want her to be friends with Vanitas, let alone best friends.

"Somewhat," he shrugged.

"Good. Your turn to answer a question. If Olette was still in the picture, even after knowing we were messing around, would you have gotten rid of me to protect me?"

He opened his mouth to answer, but nothing came out. "I don't know," he mumbled.

Roxas, of course, loved her. He wanted to protect her no matter what, but he was also selfish. He may have kept her by his side even if she _was_ in danger.

"Better question," Naminé tried, "What exactly do you think of me? Leave out all the sappy and poetic shit, please."

Roxas sighed and leaned back against the bench. "First thing's first, I think you have a serious attitude problem. You're emotionally vulnerable, but act as if your heart is impenetrable by hiding behind anger and potty mouth-ness," he smiled. "I think you're very open with sexuality once you're comfortable with your man, but not exactly to my level of perversion. You're adventurous, but easily intimidated."

Naminé laid her head on his shoulder. "That was impressively accurate. Now tell me about this Roxas guy I've never met. What's he like?"

"He's...something else. He's a socially awkward dork who lets himself get talked into stupid things easily. I don't think he can think for himself most of the time. The complete opposite of Jo. My God, he probably wouldn't have had the guts to talk to a girl like you."

Naminé blushed. "Why do you say that like I'm the head cheerleader in high school? What does that even mean? What am I like?" she laughed.

"It's your attitude towards...life, I guess. You're really sweet, but you are also a terrifying beast when you want to be. You have a tendency to be blunt when you're angry and I feel you would've brutally shut Roxas down."

"No! I'm not a heartless monster! I'm only rude when people give me a reason to be."

Roxas scoffed. "You bit me a couple days ago..."

"You tried to molest me shortly after firing me. What kind of boyfriend fires and molests his girlfriend on top of a broken Honda?"

"The sexy kind," he grinned. Naminé didn't reply, so he moved her head off of his arm and wrapped it around her. "I actually need to tell you something that will explain that."

Naminé nodded, letting him know she was listening.

"Um...after my first maid and I started to...you know, I felt like I couldn't stop. So I went to a licensed psychiatrist. He diagnosed me with a minor sex addiction. I should be taking prescription meds for it, but they cause extreme bouts of vertigo. I've been dealing with it as best I can without medication."

"So...when you said there was a purpose for leaving the door open and wanting to be next to me while you did _that_ was-?"

"Also a part of it, yes. Sometimes my exhibitionism urges get really out of hand," he grimaced.

"...That makes _so_ much sense! And here I thought you were just an obsessive pervert with an abnormally high libido!"

Roxas laughed and shook his head, hands fidgeting slightly. "Nah. I used to do it for the high, but I hated how I felt after it went away. I actually enjoy sex with you, though. I think it's because I actually care about you."

She looked up at him, then down, and giggled. "We need to get home so I can take care of your problem."

"How do you know if I even want it right now?" he glared playfully.

"Your eyes are dilated, your face is kind of flushed, your hands are fidgeting and you have a massive boner," Naminé pointed with a laugh.

He quickly crossed his legs and leaned forward to hide it. "Geez, don't look at it!"

When did he get so shy and nerdy? It was adorable!

"It's kinda hard _not_ to. Let's go fix-"

"No."

Naminé's eyes widened in shock. He was saying no to _her?_ "No...?"

"N-No. I don't want you to feel like you have to give me a fix every time I get a little...excited. I want to want you when my heart says it's okay. Not my body. Right now, I can't tell the difference."

Naminé smiled at the effort. At least he was trying. "That's really sweet of you, Roxas. But I didn't ask which part of you wanted it, did I?"

He looked at her in confusion. "Say what?

"You're not the only one with urges, Roxas. We'll figure out how to break your addiction together. Right now, we both want it. I don't see any reason to deny ourselves."

"I don't know if I should..." he pouted.

"You shouldn't. _We_ should."

"Good point," he grinned goofily. "Let's go."

 **XXX**

 **So I have good news, bad news, more good news, and a question.**

 **Good news is I got accepted to the college I wanted to go to! YASSSSS! I'll be majoring in English and I'm still deciding if I want to be an English teacher for high school or junior high.**

 **Bad news. My updates are gonna be extreeeemely slow come fall 2016...**

 **Good news is that fall of 2016 is far away!**

 **And my question. If you've been on my profile and read my future story descriptions, you know which ones I want to post in what order. BUT which one (out of Blind Rage and What's Wright) do** _ **you guys**_ **want me to post first? Majority rules!**


	24. Good Life

**24**

By the time that weekend came, Roxas met Olette at the front door. She didn't look happy in the slightest and he had a pretty good idea why. "There's something wrong with your account."

"Oh?" he feigned innocence. "What ever do you mean?"

"I mean your account is bone dry. There's not a single penny in there. I know that has to be wrong because you're rich."

"Oh no ma'am. I'm completely broke. B-R-O-K-E. Naminé's the rich one; she's a millionaire."

Olette's jaw dropped as said blonde sauntered out of the house in a black Versace mini dress and a pair of matching ankle boots. That's when she noticed that Roxas was only wearing a plain blue T-shirt, ripped blue jeans, and a pair of knockoff Converse.

 _He gave everything he had to her._

"Is that the last box?" he called.

"Yup. I can't wait to get all settled in our new house," Naminé smiled. She had a feeling that Olette was just boiling inside.

Roxas sighed happily. "Here are the keys to your house, Ms. DiCcirco. I'll see you in the headlines."

Olette closed her hand around the keys and stared at the front door of her home. She had taken everything she could from him, which turned out to be only the house.

She could at least pretend with the house. If she got lonely, she could invite some of her girl friends over, even if she couldn't trust them as far as she could throw them.

Sighing, she opened the door and walked inside. The mess that Roxas had created days before was still there. Glass was everywhere, the furniture was flipped, there were holes in the wall, and the curtains were torn down. Worst of all, various insults, curses, and middle fingers were spray painted on every single wall of the house.

"What. The. Fuck...?"

Roxas honked the horn a couple times to catch her attention. "Happy cleaning!" Naminé called with a sarcastic smirk. With that, Roxas blasted his music and sped off behind the moving truck.

Olette shrieked and kicked the door. No matter what she did, Roxas always found a way to one up her and piss her off at the same time.

She sighed again as she leaned against the wall near the kitchen and threaded her fingers through her hair. "You win," she choked out as she closed her eyes. "You fucking _win_..."

"Does that mean you're ready to go to a therapist now?"

She didn't have to open her eyes to know who it was. He went there with her, but chose to stay in the car. He was always telling her to go to a therapist and she always ignored him. But maybe there was a reason for that.

"I'm not crazy, Dad," she choked out. "I don't need a damn therapist."

"I never said you were," her father sighed. "I couldn't save your mother, so would you at least let me try to save you-"

Immediately, she got defensive. "Save me? Save me from what!? I'm fine! The problem is that fucking jerk! If he would just listen to me and do what I say, we wouldn't have a problem!"

The brunet haired man nodded, as if finally solving an age old problem. "The fact that you think he's the problem is the problem-"

"Yeah, right..." she drawled dismissively.

Gritting his teeth, he continued. "Olette, you are the cause of everything going wrong in your life. It's because you have a personality disor-"

"Don't even," she glared. "I think I would know if I had a MPD."

It was extremely hard to remain patient with her. He inwardly applauded Roxas for being able to put up with her nearly twenty-four seven while also sharing a bit of his pain. "It's not MPD-"

"Then what the fuck is it!?"

"If you would let me finish a sentence-"

"You know what? Don't. I don't have time for this shit. You need to be useful and help me clean this shit off my walls. It's not going to happen by itself."

"That's enough..." he growled.

"It's enough when I say it's enough. And you know you'll be in trouble with mom if you don't listen to me-"

"I'm _divorcing_ that dumb bitch!" he shouted, his deep echo bouncing off of the walls.

The room was completely silent now. Olette had nothing to say; she just stood there in shock, giving him her undivided attention. He had to be lying. And he'd be in a world of trouble when her mother found out what he called her.

But still...the look in his eyes made her wonder. It was possible that he could have been serious.

"Do I finally have your attention now?" he spat. "I'm divorcing your mother because she has a personality disorder and doesn't want to get treated anymore. I don't want to put up with her tantrums anymore...and I'm not going to. I believe you have the same disorder. Either we can get you fixed or you can stay the way you are with her."

Olette stared at the dark gray eyes she wished she had inherited, debating on whether or not she should accept the so-called help. Her father stood there impatiently. He was about to give up on her like everyone else.

Then she started to think about the baby that would soon be growing inside her. Her mother had extreme bitch tendencies while her father was usually a calm, mousey man, despite his voice. The last thing she wanted to do was raise her child the way her mother raised her to be: selfish and idiotic. And though she wanted to be stubborn and refuse his offer, she knew that he would help her with the baby if all else failed. Who knew, maybe she would actually stop pissing everyone off and be a great mother.

"I'll go to _one_ therapy session. I'll go to a second one if I like it," she frowned.

Her father cracked a small smile. That was the best he was going to get out of her. She was taking half of a baby step, but at least she was making the effort to take any at all.

Then tears suddenly started to cloud her vision. She didn't understand why she felt so horrible and worthless all of a sudden. It was like her emotions kept switching back and forth before she could even register what she was feeling. And then she'd react without thinking.

"Please help me," she whimpered as she buried her fingers into her hair and pulled in frustration. "Please..."

Her father nodded, though he didn't sympathize or empathize with her in the slightest. He just performed his fatherly duties, which was leading her back to the car and driving her to the therapist.

Of course, he had an appointment already scheduled in thirty minutes. Whether she went willingly or not, she would be in that therapist's office at the designated time.

XXX

Roxas and Naminé's new home was a lot smaller than his mansion, but it felt like an actual home. The poparazzi quickly found out about the move and took dozens of pictures as they moved boxes back and forth between the truck and the house.

And since the rest of the band was busy, Axel offered to help them, but only because he had something to get off his chest.

"Roxas, we gotta talk," Axel said as he stepped into the back of the truck.

"About...?"

"You, me, and Demyx. I gotta know what the hell happened to make you guys like fucking Siamese twins and us like...associates."

Roxas sighed. "You want the full story or the abridged version?"

Axel looked upwards, debating. "Abridged. But I'll ask questions if and when I don't understand."

The blond stacked three boxes on top of each other, then picked them up. "I signed an indefinite contract with Olette before I knew she was a few crayons short of being a rainbow."

Axel snickered. "That I knew."

"Okay um...I started something Zexion calls The Maid Clause. I would get a maid, then wind up sleeping with her somehow. Yuffie was to help with the drugs, Larxene was to help with the lonlieness. After I was forced to fire Yuffie..."

The redhead raised an eyebrow at the silence. Then he shook his head and mentally facepalmed. They were walking in front of the cameras again.

Inside the house, Roxas sat the boxes down and continued. "I started cutting. I didn't want you to know because you would freak out."

The redhead froze as a box dropped from his hand to the floor. Roxas took a single step back, hoping he wouldn't explode. "Ax...?"

He took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. "I wouldn't have freaked out," Axel assured him. "I would've beat your motherfucking ass! What the fuck, Roxas-!?"

"That's the reaction I didn't want from you!" Roxas quickly explained. "When Demyx found out, I made him promise me not to tell you because I knew you'd be pissed. That secret is what made us like Siamese twins. Plus, we both harbored the same amount of hatred for Olette. The end."

His clenched fist shook as he stared at his supposed best friend. "Can I punch you in the face?"

"What? No!"

"I want to..."

"I don't care! Punch the goddamn wall or something!"

"I'm sorry."

"Axel-!" Roxas was cut off when the taller man's fist connected with his face, sending him to the floor. "What the hell dude...?" he groaned.

Naminé walked into the room to see what happened, saw the scene a little ways away, then walked right back out. Axel wasn't necessarily a threat and she was sure Roxas would live.

Said redhead paced back and forth, tugging at his hair. "Goddamn it, Roxas, we were best friends! Why wouldn't you want to tell me something like that!? I would've wanted to help you!"

"But I'm fine now, so why are you punching me!?"

"Because I'm pissed! You went to _Demyx_ before you went to me!" he glared.

He wasn't aware that his friends were so possessive until that moment. This kind of behavior was expected from Demyx, but not Axel. "Now that I think about it...it seems like you and Demyx were competing for my friendship over the years. Why?"

"I...he started it!" Axel stomped childishly.

Roxas rolled his eyes and slowly stood. "I don't care who started it. Knock it off. Tch, and he tells me I need to grow up..."

The two men went back to the truck to pick up a couple more boxes. "So are we cool?" Axel asked.

"We were always cool, man. You and Demyx were just being childish."

Axel chuckled and nodded. "I guess so. I'm not gonna be childish anymore if that makes you feel better."

The blond smirked to himself. That was Axel's shitty attempt at apologizing. From what he remembered, he never was any good at it. Still, it was a nice sentiment.

XXX

On the drive to her father's hotel room, Olette stared out of the passenger's window. She refused to look at her father because she was throwing yet another one of her tantrums.

The therapist had told them both that she was showing signs of both Histrionic Personality Disorder and Narcissistic Personality Disorder. She wasn't sure what histrionic meant, but she knew exactly what a narcissist was. It felt like he was verbally attacking her and she instantly disliked him.

"I take it you don't want to go back," he spoke.

"No."

"Not even for your child, which you still don't know how to contact the father of?"

Olette lowered her head and kept her mouth shut. She was angry, but she also wanted help. Her father was the only person willing to do that.

One more session wouldn't kill her. Then maybe she could get her friends back and find the nerve to apologize for everything she'd done.

"You know, you make it so hard to help you. I'm trying to be here for you. What else do you want from me? You have a horrible attitude and a legitimate disorder. If you give birth without getting yourself under control, they'll take it away from you."

It wasn't like she asked for it in the first place. It was nothing more than a burden and it always would be. In fact, abortion was always an option.

 _Wait, what the fuck am I thinking?_

That alone was enough to scare her into reality. She was always against abortion. It was never an option, no matter what. How could she? "I-I'll go back. I'll go."

Her father nodded. "Good."

"Even if I change my mind later, I want to go. Don't let me back out."

"It's not like I can force you to go there-"

"Daddy," she growled. "If I ever say I don't want to go and I'm not the slightest bit better, I want you to drag me. Even if I'm kicking and screaming. I _have_ to go."

He glanced at his daughter. He could tell that it was the real her talking, not the version of her everyone hated. And he was a little proud.

"Alright. I'll help you through this the best I can. I'll be your support and I won't let you back out."

"And you won't give up on me? Promise?"

Though his eyes were on the road, she could clearly see the growing pride in them. "Promise."

XXX

A month later, Roxas had another dream. This time, he was immediately certain that he was dreaming again. That familiar, vivid hyperreality made it clear. Because it was so vivid, he knew he was about to have yet another crazy dream.

The dream started off with him sitting alone in the front row of a wedding ceremony. He could see the groom standing lazily, as if he had other things better to do than to get married. Even worse, said groom was wearing a pair of dark jeans, a black hoodie, and a snapback.

The groom turned around and faced the empty chairs with a forced smile as the organ- that Roxas couldn't see -played a slow version of The Fix. He found the choice in music disgusting. It was absolutely wrong for the occasion. How could someone play a song like that at a wedding?

"Jo," he growled, hands curling into fists. His anger only increased as he saw Naminé walk down the aisle in a red minidress. She didn't look happy in the slightest.

Meanwhile, Jo looked as if he was mentally ripping her clothes off. Roxas was visibly pissed, but it was like they didn't even notice him sitting there. He was the only one there.

The priest started to read once Naminé made it to the front. She didn't even look at Jo, but Jo wouldn't look away from her.

It should be me up there with her, Roxas thought bitterly.

"Do you, Roxas Jones, take this woman-?"

"Hell yeah. Can we start the honey moon already?"

Naminé hit him, but Jo only grinned and chuckled like some kind of predator. Was that how Naminé saw him? Was that how everyone saw him?

"Alright..." the priest grumbled. "Do you Naminé White, take this man to love and to hold-"

"She does," Jo answered quickly.

Naminé shrugged. "I guess so. This is his wedding, so everything has to go his way," she mumbled.

"If anyone objects to this union, speak now or forever hold your peace."

"It should be me," Roxas spoke. His voice was clear and more confident than it had ever been. That confidence pulled him to his feet and pushed him forward until he was standing in front of the priest. "Naminé should be marrying me. I'm the one that cares about her."

Jo, acknowledging his presence for the first time, turned to glare at him. "You saying I don't care about her?"

"You don't care about her like I do."

Jo raised himself up to his full height. "You better sit the fuck down and watch this wedding happen like a good dog. Don't make me put you in your place," he spat.

Unlike the other dream he had, he wasn't afraid of Jo. If anything, Jo should have been afraid of him. He had a right to fight for what was his. "Fuck that. You are done controlling me. Go back to the fucking stage where you belong and stay there."

Jo took half a step back, which Roxas noticed. With a slightly sadistic looking smirk, he grabbed him roughly by the jaw and made sure their eyes connected. "I am not afraid of you. Fuck off."

Surprisingly, he smirked back. "Go ahead and take her. But you and I both know she won't truly be happy until you're fixed."

The staring contest continued, neither willing to back down. Jo may have had power over him before, but he wasn't as weak as he used to be. If he could stand up to Olette's overbearing bitchiness, he could stand up to the warped version of himself that dared to make him into something he wasn't.

"You don't know me. I don't know me, but I don't want you around while I try to figure that out."

Jo raised an eyebrow, seemingly amused. Roxas had no idea what to expect, but he wasn't prepared for the next words out of his mouth.

"Good job, bro."

Roxas jumped into a sitting position, instantly feeling the pounding ache in the front of his head. He looked around and saw that he was on the couch in the living room. "Oh yeah, I did take a nap," he yawned as he wiped his eyes. "What the hell am I eating that's causing these weird ass dreams?"

It took him about a minute or so to wake all the way up. That's when his dream started to sink in. He stood up to Jo...and Jo approved. Was that the point of all the recent visits, to make him stand up for himself?

"Roxas!" Naminé sang as she ran into the living room. He didn't have much time to react, she just jumped onto the couch with him. "Guess who's choreographing Go Big or Go Home..."

"You, of course!" Roxas smiled as he hugged a screaming Naminé. Go Big or Go Home was a dance movie that a friend of Dead Alive had been working on for a while. He'd often ask the band for advice and help with some of the dialogue, but he never showed them the finished script. So when he said he needed a choreographer, Roxas- having seen Namine's dancing first hand -instantly thought of Naminé.

"Don't lie to me here. Did you do anything to help me get this gig?"

He shook his head honestly. Naminé did that all by herself. "Absolutely not."

Naminé screamed again. "Then it's real! This is happening!"

While she rambled on about her excitement, Roxas laid back and watched her. Seeing her this happy made him feel accomplished. He beat Olette. Surely she had something else hiding up her sleeve, but he and his manager would be ready. She wasn't a problem anymore, and neither was Vanitas.

Lots of people always talked about the "good life". And he had a feeling that he, no, _they_ were about to start living it.

 **XXX**

 **Edited: 5.11.16**

 **The Fix is by Jerimih and Nelly. Love that song, but it shouldn't be played at a wedding...**


	25. Let's Talk

**25**

 **Coming to you live from Radiant Garden, it's everybody's favorite gossip girl: Serah!**

The familiar talk show host walked up to her large, purple chair and sat in it with a huge smile on her face. She patiently waited for the audience to finish cheering before deciding to officially open up her show.

"So we're back with _another_ season…" The audience cheered louder, making their host chuckle. "Ahhh, I love it! I just love how excited you guys get for _me_ , of all people."

Another round of cheering passed. She sipped some water from a bottle she'd silently requested from a stage hand and cleared her throat. "Today is a special day, as you all know. This is the beginning of our fifth season on the air, and I promise to make it as great as all the past seasons have been, if not better. So, in celebration of a brand new season, I'm gonna dedicate this whole episode to the massive "Jo-splosion" that's been going on amongst the Wraith community.

"If you're not a Wraith like most of us, then you have no idea what the Jo-splosion is. Over the past couple of months, _Jo_ and everyone associated with him, have been blowing the minds of both fans and haters _worldwide_. Not always pleasant surprises, but entertaining nonetheless. Our first topic: _Demyx_."

A picture of Demyx Trapson appeared on the board behind her, but not one everyone was used to seeing. The star was in a blue jumpsuit and sitting next to his lawyer in a large courtroom. He appeared bored, while everyone around him appeared anxious.

"Unfortunately, his trial did not go well. He plead guilty for statutory rape and was sentenced to prison for _two_ years instead of five. Once he's released, he'll have to be registered as a sex offender with the state. Can you believe that several countries are thinking about banning Dead Alive because of this? Allegedly, of course."

This caused a raucous uproar from the crowd. Apparently, they didn't like this decision at all.

"Personally, I think it's stupid if the rumors are true. It's not like he goes around raping five year olds. A man can catch hell for having completely consensual sex with a minor who was, at the time, _almost legal_ , but a different guy who was proven to be on bath salts gets _nothing_ for ripping chunks of people's faces out with his teeth at convenience stores? Come on, people. Get your priorities straight. Yes, Demyx was wrong because he broke the law, but to completely ignore more serious cases of actual violence is where I draw the line with this nation. The guy wasn't even arrested."

There was a bit of mixed reception from the audience this time around. It seemed as if some people believed that the "harsh" treatment of the star was justified. Others didn't, causing a couple arguments within the small crowd.

"Hey now, don't be like that guys. We're all entitled to our own opinions. I just believe that officers slash government officials should focus their time and energy on something that legitimately matters in the now. Honestly, it all went down years ago. If the father was so bent out of shape about it…you know what, where the hell were _you_ , Sir? Blame yourself. For one, you should've kept a better eye on your daughter. Two, get over it! She's a grown woman now! …Who's allegedly paying him visits in prison."

Of course, the crowd instigated this. They always did.

"Allegedly! We have no way to prove that it's true. It's just rumors and speculation. But, we do have solid proof that Olette was totally off her rocker, which I already knew way-back-when." Next a very flattering picture of Olette popped up. She was obviously posing for a photo shoot. "She's tweeted several times in the past few months about _the incident_ , has publicly apologized for her behavior towards cast and crew of different projects about a million times already, but each time we were only left with vague bits of information. Now we're one step closer to finding out the whole truth. This recent tweet reads:

 _Olette Circ: DAOfficial I cannot express how very sorry I am. None of you should've had to suffer because I can't handle my own mental disorder. No PR, just the real me._

"No one was expecting a reply, but it happened. Some think that it was actually _Roxas_ speaking to her using the band's official page instead of their manager, but I'll let you decide. The conversation went like this."

 _DAOfficial: You're forgiven. I can say with the utmost confidence that you were not in control of your actions some time ago. I hope that you continue to seek help for yourself and visit when you're strong enough._

 _Olette Circ: I will, I will. Once I'm done with this chapter of my life, the next will start with someone you all will be very proud of, I swear it_

 _DAOfficial: I know you will. Unfortunately, you'll have to find someone else to take over the world with. That position is already filled._

 _Olette Circ: Wouldn't have it any other way…_

 _DAOfficial: Feel better, honey. You're in all of our prayers._

"…Is it me, or does that whole thing feel staged by both parties? I don't know, it just kind of screams publicity stunt, you know?"

There were some mumbles of agreement from the crowd.

"Or maybe not. The poor thing really has been going through a lot since her split with Jo. I didn't like her, still sort of don't, but I felt bad after what happened with the baby. Yes, there was documented proof of a baby- she refused to tell us who the father was -but…I hate this…Olette revealed in an interview last month that she found out her body wasn't meant to carry children. If she conceives, her body will automatically reabsorb it. She was in tears and it really broke my heart."

"…I'm sorry, I really need to get off this subject before I cry again. Coming up after this commercial break, why the Wraiths are predicting the "inevitable" break up of Jo and Naminé. I'll see you when we return."

x.o.o.x

"Welcome back, everyone! God, I've been so excited to share these with you. Here are some of the best fan theories that I can find. Number one:

 **Vanitas**

"Now Vanitas, as we know, came out of nowhere last year. One minute we're all caught up in the love triangle between Crazy, Cutie, and Jo, but then _this_ hunk of man comes out of nowhere and steals our hearts. There was some tension between him and Jo over Naminé, but it seems that they've tided everything over and have come to some sort of agreement. Now, after a whole year of petty arguing, they're best friends.

"Theory: It's _not_ over. Some people believe that Naminé and Vanitas were just too close in the past for her to be able to leave him like this. Maybe there was a mutual agreement, maybe Naminé is just caught up in something new. The main theory is that Vanitas is playing nice so he can get close enough to them to take her back.

"I think there's… _some_ truth to it. Possibly? The only thing can think of to shoot that down is how close he and Roxas have become. I mean, the friendship seems genuine to me. He's his choreographer now, and-"

Different noises of surprise, excitement, and disgust surfaced from the crowd. Serah's eyes widened. "None of you knew this!?" She received a collective "nope". "Well, this is why you have me. A couple weeks before Jo went on his tour in the Pride Lands- by the way, he _finally_ made it there; it's been his dream since forever -he had some issues with his tour crew and roadies. In the end, he fired half of the staff and replaced them rather quickly, but it took a lot longer to get a decent choreographer.

"Until this happened on twitter:

 _JOhannes: Choreographer…? C-Choreographer? *panics* CHOREOGRAPHER!?_

 _Van: …*cough cough*_

 _JOhannes: Is that a notice-me-senpai cough or…?_

 _Van: Maybe…_

 _JOhannes: Senpai has noticed. Come see me. All the homo_

"And since then, Vanitas has been working for Roxas as his go to choreographer for…pretty much everything. I still can't believe you guys never knew this!

"Okay, our second theory:

 **Karma**

Some people believe that Roxas and Naminé's story is sweet and that they deserve to be together. Others believe that one or both of them will get their karma. Technically, Naminé left her fiancé for Jo. Jo _stole_ Naminé from another man while he was with Olette. Is karma really in order for them? Or are the two actually victims of circumstance?

"Real quick, Jo came out a little while ago and said that his and Olette's relationship was a publicity stunt and that it was never real. I don't believe that for a damn second! That's just something you say when you've been caught cheating and you don't want to deal with the consequences in public, am I right? We all remember when Olette told us about his sex addiction…

"Publicity stunts don't last that long, Jo. Try another lie. Still love you, though.

"Back on topic. I think I agree with this theory, but only because it makes the most sense out of all the other fan theories. If Naminé can so easily leave the man she loved enough to marry some time ago, then what's to say Jo won't propose to her, and then cheat on or leave her? What's stopping him from using his "sex addiction" as an excuse to cheat on Naminé behind the scenes?

"Then again, we can't push all the blame on her because Jo did go behind Olette's back to be with Naminé. Maybe someone twice as talented, twice as rich, and twice as handsome will come along and steal her away from him. Maybe she'll wind up cheating on him. And yes, I do believe that one of these things will happen because life sucks, and then you die.

"Here's one of the less popular theories, but an interesting theory nonetheless:

 **Jonitas**

"As if the Wraiths couldn't get even more twisted, the Jonitas theory is like a combination of the first and last theory. A surprising number of people think that karma will indeed be the end of them, but in the form of Jo and _Vanitas_ becoming an item."

The audience screamed in shock and delight. Of course, it consisted of mostly women.

"There's this supposed evidence of Jo and Vanitas being a little too close for platonic comfort. The tweets, some snaps, some "incriminating" photos of the two almost kissing in public leaned by paparazzi." Some of the aforementioned photos were displayed on the screen behind her. "I don't believe a single bit of it, but I _will_ show you this video of the two walking into a café in downtown Twilight Town."

 _The paparazzi swarmed the two men as they pushed their way through the crowd with some help from two men in expensive looking suit. Both Vanitas and the blond wore dark shades and hoodies, but it was clearly them._

" _Vanitas, what do you have to say about your relationship with Jo?"_

 _Vanitas smirked, reaching back to wrap his arm around the blond's waist. "Nothing," he shrugged, pulling the blond into the coffee shop._

"There are several reasons why I don't believe this. For example, I don't believe Jo would ever bottom to anyone, let alone let anyone _think_ that he would. Plus, Jo makes way too many tweets about Naminé being the most important person in his life. Jonitas fans? _It ain't happening._ "

The audience clapped and cheered as she paused to take another sip of water. "I may also think that _that's_ not even Jo. Ventus still exists, guys. Plus, Vanitas had already publicly stated that he's batting for both teams."

After several seconds of silence, the audience exploded into bouts of laughter, gasps, screams, and the birth of all new fan theories.

"What the hell have I done?" Serah chuckled to herself. "Guys, I'm not saying it's the truth. It could be a prank, PR, publicity stunt, or none of the above. Maybe they're just two guys who became close due to similar Namin- I mean _interests_ ," she grinned.

She paused to let the audience calm down from their laughter before continuing. "The last one I want to talk about today is a very common theory:

 **Return of the Psycho**

"Over two _million_ people have confirmed that they believe Olette will not get better and that this apology run she's been on is just an act to give herself time to plot slash recuperate from a safe distance. Is that true? Most likely. She does not have the best track record and we all know that when Olette disappears, she's never up to any good. But fortunately, she has been behaving as of late and we have no proof any disturbances from her.

"Honestly…I hope it's not. I really hope that Olette will get the help she needs for whatever she needs it for. It'd be nice if Naminé and Olette actually became friends, right? If Jonitas, why not, I don't know, Namlette? Ooh, new fan theory!"

The audience started to clap and cheer. A couple laughs were thrown in here and there, but everyone present seemed amused by the idea.

"We'll get to the state of Jo and Naminé's actual relationship after the break."

Olette switched off her television and hugged a large orange cushion to her chest. Thanks to her psychiatrist, she discovered that seeing, wearing, and being around the color orange calmed her down when she became upset. It reminded her of all the times in her life when she was truly happy.

"Roxas is your friend, right?" she spoke softly, barely above a whisper. "Roxas is your friend and you want him to be happy. He doesn't like you when you get all **crazy** , so just…" Olette inhaled deeply, just as she was taught. "Calm yourself."

The room was dead silent. It was comforting, along with the thick darkness in the room. Her curtains blocked out every trace of sunlight that dared to enter her bedroom. Surprisingly, the dark helped her relax.

"I love Roxas. A-As a friend, of course. A relationship between us just wouldn't work and I know that."

All of her angry thoughts were fading as quickly as they had arrived and she felt a bit lighter.

"I can survive without him. I _can._ The world doesn't revolve around me."

Again, she was met with silence. And that was okay. She needed to be alone to truly understand herself and the awful need to be close to Roxas. It was hard, but she knew a new perspective of life was waiting for her on the other side of that deep, dark chasm.

x.o.o.x

Roxas slowly and quietly crept into his house with a small smile on his face. He had just gotten back from a long tour, but he still wanted to surprise her with the gift he'd bought. The urge to just crash on the couch and fall into a comatose-like sleep seemed like a wonderful idea the longer he remained on his feet, but not until he saw the look on her face from his gift.

There was one problem. Naminé was nowhere to be found. Confused, Roxas quietly shut the door and peeked into the kitchen. She wasn't there, wasn't in either bathroom, wasn't in the basement, not in the bed-

The star's jaw dropped as he stepped inside their bedroom. The lights were dimmed, one of his favorite songs was playing on the stereo, and a bunch of Starr scented candles were lit all over the room.

"Why do you do this to me?" he sighed, then inhaled deeply. The smell was turning all his stress into sexual tension and…he didn't even realize he'd sank to his knees.

There on the bed, in one of his flannel shirts (and nothing else) was Naminé. "Welcome home, Roxas," she laughed.

He and Naminé had talked about this month's ago. He complained a lot about how selfish Olette used to be and how she wouldn't even give him five minutes to relax after a tour. There Naminé was, smiling and waiting patiently for him to get home, looking as sexy as ever.

For once, he actually felt something when he thought about coming back to the place where he resided. A house was just a house and a mansion was just a mansion, but a home, he realized, was a place where you felt comfortable and loved. _This_ was his home here with her.

Roxas only wished she would stop using that amazing smell to her advantage. He literally could not deny her anything when she did. She obviously wanted more than to greet him and let him sleep if she went through all this trouble.

"I'm so sick of your shit," he shuddered, inhaling deeply once again. God, that smell. His pants were getting tighter and his mind started to spiral. This was it. He was finally going insane from lust.

Laughing, she climbed off of the bed and helped him to his feet. "I know. I've been waiting all this time to tell you that you chose wrong. Olette's the one for you."

Roxas snickered, allowing Naminé to pull him along. Once they were in the connected bathroom, he saw that their tub was already filled with water. This tub, out of all of the ones he'd owned in the past, was his favorite because it was a heated soaking tub. When warm water was drawn, it stayed that exact temperature until the tub was turned off.

"Why all this?" he asked. "Like, what'd I do to deserve this?"

Naminé shrugged. "Nothing at all. I just remember your horror stories from your tours in the past. I figured what better way to help out someone I love than to make sure they're comfortable when they come home?"

Roxas raised an amused eyebrow. That wasn't the reason at all. Being with Naminé without any restrictions had taught him that she was a lot more sexually adventurous than he initially thought, though he should have known that from their trip to Destiny Islands. "Kay…now what's the real reason?" he smirked.

"It's been three months and ya girl tryna get laid man…"

Roxas' smirk morphed into a frown. He didn't like how much of an affect he'd had on her in these past few months. As the weeks passed, Naminé had been picking up more and more of his bad habits. He attempted to talk about it with her, but it would turn into a screaming match about split personalities and bacon.

The only plausible explanation he could come up with was _too much Nick Jonas._

In the end, he would give up and tell her he didn't care about it, but he did. It was weird seeing the female version of himself in the making and he didn't like it. This must have been what Demyx felt when he was glued to Seifer's side.

The short blonde sighed. "I see that look on your face, don't start, Roxas. I just like living my life this way: being able to say and do what I want and give no fucks about it. This is who I am now and I _want_ to be this way."

And just like him, she didn't understand how her behavior was upsetting the ones she loved. "Hell no. I want you to stop this. Seriously, it's not cool. Not everything is for everyone and that definitely ain't for _you_."

"But I'm sure it's something you can get used to. Come on, you just fucking got home!"

That was true. Arguing with her was pointless and he simply didn't have the energy. "You know what's you're right. Fuck it. I can't find it in me to give a shit," he muttered.

Naminé stared at his back as he started to undress, a little shocked and a little hurt. It was happening again. The only thing she feared was coming to fruition: she was becoming his next Olette.

"I'll just…leave you alone then," she whispered. "I'm not really in the mood anymore anyway."

This was the start of it all. How long would it take before Roxas hired another maid and started sleeping with _her?_ He'd start the same cycle all over again, just with another woman involved. Someone else would become his temporary clean up woman, and everything would start back at square one after the honeymoon phase of their relationship.

Silently, she made her way to the door. This was a stupid idea. The best thing to do was change into some decent pajamas and blow out all the candles. She needed to stop embarrassing herself.

"No, come here," Roxas called. Naminé, whose hand was on the doorknob, slowly stepped backwards and sat on the floor beside the tub. The superstar held back a smile. " _In_ here. Just like before."

It made her feel a bit better that Roxas wanted to be near her at all. She knew she couldn't take this opportunity for granted. No arguing, no yelling, and no stubbornness. Her pride could wait this time.

Naminé shrugged out of the flannel and slipped into the tub. Her back was against the opposite side of the tub so that she could comfortably face her loving boyfriend. Well, she hoped with all her heart that he still loved her like she loved him.

Roxas sighed, sinking lower into the water, legs tangling with hers. "Therapy, believe it or not, actually taught me something, Starr. It taught me that communication is key and assumptions and misunderstandings are the death of relationships. I'm not trying to offend you, but I want you to feel me when I say this."

Naminé waited patiently as he internally struggled with his words. _No matter what he says, remember that he's saying it for the betterment of this relationship._ "Go ahead. I'm listening."

"I…" he started slowly. " _You…_ " Roxas licked his lips and frowned. This must have been extremely hard for him, Naminé thought. "You know that feeling you get around your significant other when the relationship is new and you're _so_ in love and the two of you feel like you can take over the world?"

"Of course. I used to feel that all the time-"

"There you go. You _used_ to feel that, but you don't now. I feel the same way, but it's because of this new attitude you have. I absolutely hate it when you act like mini female Jo because I don't even like Jo. He nearly ruined my life, I don't want him fucking up yours."

Naminé nodded slowly. "I understand…sort of. The reason I started it was because I wanted to be someone you could have fun with all the time. Like you said before, it became a bad habit after a while."

"You're not even-!" Roxas closed his eyes. There was no need to yell, why was he yelling? Deep breaths. "You're _not_ acting like someone I can have fun with. You're becoming someone the old me would have _used_. I want that fuzzy feeling back, but the only woman who can make me feel like that is Naminé, not "ya girl" or whatever bullshit you choose to go by now."

"Okay. I do understand your point. But you know who else is to blame for my behavior?"

"Oh, I'd love to hear this one."

"Who, out of the entire Dead Alive crew, calls himself "ya boy" literally twenty-four seven?"

The star bit his lip. What did this have to do with anything? Why was she bringing _him_ up? "Vanitas."

"Who is the loudest one?"

" _Axel_."

"Who tells the dirtiest jokes alive?"

"Ven…"

"Who has an incredibly high self esteem that borders on insurmountable arrogance?"

"Tifa." Now he understood perfectly. "I get it."

"I'm not saying it's anyone's fault in particular. Just…maybe I'm spending too much time with the band. I'm an adult, but I'm still figuring out who I am and what type of person I wanna be. At first, I thought since you liked your band mates, you'd like me even more if I took on something from all of them. Know that I'm not intentionally trying to _hurt_ you, Roxas. I just wanted to be better for you."

He tilted his head back down, rubbing her legs affectionately, comfortingly. " I know that. I always knew that. But I love you just the way you are. I want my Naminé. Go back to being the woman I fell in love with, not a wannabe Dead Alive whore."

Naminé chuckled softly. "I'm only a whore for you behind closed doors."

His lips parted to argue, but then he stopped. What was so bad about that? The sex had never once lacked its usual flair. Their time together was always out of this world. "I can accept that."

"I'll try to get rid of these bad habits, but try to be patient with me. But the lingerie definitely stays."

"The hell you mean _definitely stays_? They were never leaving this house!" he laughed. "I'm telling you to tone it down, not become a nun. I still like it when you get a little crazy."

Naminé giggled darkly. Of course he liked it. That was why she did it. The couple laughed together, relaxing at the scent of the candles circulating the room. This was nice. They actually talked out their problems for once and it ended on a good note. She really appreciated his effort.

"We're okay, right? You still love me?" she asked in a voice that was small and unsure.

"Don't ever doubt that again, you hear me? If I can look you in the eye and tell you I love you, then I mean it," he told her. Naminé had been purposely avoiding his eye the entire time, but the second she caught his eye, she saw it.

That adorable little sparkle was still there, as bright as it was the day she'd first discovered it. Roxas _did_ mean it. She felt herself falling for him all over again.

"I love you too, JoJo. More than anything."

The couple sighed contentedly, both staring up at the ceiling with small smiles. It was silent between them for a long while, except for the sounds of the stereo in the other room.

Then, Roxas slowly sat up straight in the tub, catching Naminé's attention. "I just remembered I got you something from the Pride Lands."

"Really? What is it?"

He purposely ignored her. "I got it directly from the king himself. Once I told him about you, he all but threw it at me and told me to make good use of it…and I plan to."

"Roxas, what _is_ it?" Naminé laughed.

"I couldn't stop thinking about you on the way home. So…here's your present." He reached for his pants and fished something out of his pocket, making sure to keep it out of Naminé's view.

Naminé's eyes widened as the object in his wet hands opened with an audible pop. "Oh my God, what, _what!?_ " she screamed, grinning like a fool.

It was a ring. Large blue diamond, princess cut, silver, diamond encrusted band.

"Let's just do the damn thing already. Naminé-"

"SHUT UP I ACCEPT GET OVER HERE!" The box flew out of his hands as the blonde pulled him into a hug that forced the wind out of him. He squeezed back, kissed the top of her head, then buried his face into the top of her hair.

All was as it should have been. Everyone was finally happy.

x.o.o.x

And then there was Vanitas, standing still with both arms propped up on the railing of a bridge. Between his fingers was the engagement ring Naminé had given back to him so many months ago.

So much had changed. He and Roxas were actually friends, Olette was willingly seeking help and getting much better, Naminé was the happiest he'd ever seen her, the band was five times as popular because of all the drama, and…

He was still unhappy. Even though his own career had skyrocketed thanks to his work with Jo, he couldn't truly be happy when the most important woman in his life was laying up with another man.

How long would he have to fake a smile for the sake of everyone around him? How could he explain the reason why he'd been using Ventus for half a year? The last thing Vanitas wanted to do was start up drama when everything and everyone was fine. He was literally the only one with the problem.

"You good?" the blond asked with genuine concern.

Vanitas nodded slowly, twisting the ring around in endless circles. Ventus was so sweet to him, all the while knowing what the choreographer was doing and why he was keeping him around.

Ven had actual feelings for Vanitas. _Vanitas_ slept with him because he looked like Roxas. No, he wasn't at all attracted to the star. When he and Ventus were in their moment, he could hold the illusion that Roxas was beneath him, both literally and physically. It made him feel in control of his own life and he hadn't felt that in so long. During, Ventus wouldn't say a word, though he was sure that everything he'd done to him must have left so many physical and emotional scars.

He knew it was sick, but it was the only thing that helped.

"Nah," he answered honestly. "How long does it take? To get over it, I mean."

Ventus shrugged. "I wouldn't know. But I do know that you're not as sick as you'd like to think you are. You're just in pain, and it's your own fault."

The dark haired man scoffed. That was the truth. Apparently all sane people had violent sex with look-alikes of the friends they secretly hated, then felt guilty about it because that friend actually meant the world to them.

He did care about Roxas. Naminé as well. He just wished Naminé would've chosen _him_ after all they'd been through.

"Right..." He looked down at the ring once more with a frown. No, he wasn't the least bit happy about the situation, and yes, he was very bitter about it. He had every right to be, he thought.

"Not everybody gets their happy ending right away, Van. Yours might be on its way."

Rolling his golden eyes, he let the ring slip from his fingers and plummet towards the large body of water below. It sank with a soft echo, then disappeared out of sight. "Fuck that."

Ventus frowned as the taller man walked away. "Or maybe it's already here and you just can't see it with your head in your ass," he mumbled dejectedly. For seemingly the hundredth time that week, he stuffed his hands in his pockets and followed behind Vanitas like a lost, kicked puppy.

He would see. Someday. Maybe. _Hopefully_ …

 **x.o.o.x**

 **Oh MY God…I've done it.**

 **This feels finished! Haha, YES! Man, I thought I would never get here and Here. I.** _ **Am**_ **. I love it because I, for once, honestly feel happy about the ending of this story. I don't feel it was rushed, I believe that the most important parts of the story got closure, and others were purposely left open so that you guys can make guesses.**

 **I also wanted the general idea to be that not everyone gets their happy ending. It's a hopeful thought, but that's all it is sometimes. (Also, be glad that I didn't go with my first mind and make Vani kill himself. I was THIS to going there.)**

 **For those of you who wanted to know, What's Wright has been reposted! It's on my friend's page:** **JDI Jasper** **. Lemme tell you, that boy is talented. He took the story and fucking flipped it. It's SO different. I'm helping him with some of the chapters and I love what I'm seeing so far.**

 **Alrighty. So…this is the official end of Clean Up Woman. I love what I've done and I** _ **will**_ **continue to edit the grammar and plot holes in my free time. If you liked this ending, I'm happy. If not, that's okay too. And unless my crazy ass decides to pop up with a sequel or something…**

 **Clean Up Woman is finally finished.**


End file.
